Stolen Sunsets: The Alluring Facade
by AsaMoritz
Summary: Emily is a normal student attending Danby University, along with her roommate, Samara. Well—if being in love with your supposedly "dead" best friend, whom turns out to be a very successful entrepreneur in her "afterlife", and also being stalked by an anonymous elitist is normal, she's as normal as they come. How far will she and her friends have to go, to take down -A? [EMISON]
1. Naked Obscurity

**Emily POV**

I was walking in the woods aimlessly. "What am I doing here?" I asked myself. Everything seemed so... Surreal. There was a thick fog on the ground, the moon had a yellow tint and it was huge. It appeared to be so close to the earth, that if I climbed a 3-story building, I would be able to touch it. I stood there, admiring it's beauty... As a million stars waited for a chance to twinkle in the cloudless, purple sky.

"It's lovely, isn't it?"

I felt my blood turn to ice in my veins as I shifted my gaze to see who the voice belonged to, only to be frozen in shock at the beautiful enigma that stood in front of me.

Her blue lace strapless summer dress danced with a sudden gust of wind. Oh, how it accentuated those cerulean eyes of hers. Golden locks, slightly curled at the ends, fell ever so effortlessly over her shoulders. She seemed like an angel, illuminating every object that surrounded her.

"Alison?" I finally managed to whisper.

"It's been too long, Em" she said, while slowly walking towards me.

"I- I... How did you know I was here?" Finally managing to form a sentence after stumbling over my words.

Alison stopped after closing the gap between us, reaching out her hands to hold mine. "Where I am, I can see everything now." she said, searching my face.

I felt a shiver run down my spine as her hands held mine. She still had that effect on me, after all this time.

"I've missed you so much" Ali sighed.

I couldn't help but to grab her into a full hug, which she returned, after a moment of hesitation.

"Well, please, come back. We've been working so hard to take down A, so that you can come back safely." I said, trying to hold back my tears.

She released me from the hug, but continued holding my hands. I looked in her eyes and saw nothing but regret and concern. I freed one of my hands and cupped her face with it, gazing into her eyes.

"Please, please stay this time. I can protect you!" Trying to plead with her.

"It's not safe yet. I'd only put both of us in danger if I - "

Suddenly, I heard footsteps running towards our direction, interrupting what Ali was about to say. We both looked to see if anyone was around and couldn't help but feel as if we were about to face something both of us weren't prepared for.

"RUN! RUN, EM!" Ali screamed, trying to push me to a start.

"No! I'm not going to leave you! Not again" I grabbed her arm and started running in the opposite direction. Alison had no choice but to follow me.

As soon as we were close to a road, Ali tripped on a branch and I heard a bone cracked. She cried out in pain. The sound made my heart shatter. I ran back to her and I saw tears in her blue eyes, as the footsteps got closer.

I tried picking her up, but as soon as I did... A black hooded figure came out of no where wielding a hockey stick, which they were about to hit her with.

I screamed myself out of sleep, relieved that it was just a nightmare. My hands felt as if I was still holding Ali in my arms and my body was shaking in terror. I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes and turned my head to check the time, but instead, I saw a blonde standing beside my bed with a huge smile on her face.

"Samara, what are you doing in my room?" I groaned.

"Well, you were screaming and I thought maybe the monster under your bed scared you again" She smirked.

I got an extra pillow and threw it at her, but she caught it before it could hit her.

"Well aren't you feisty" she laughed. "Do you want me to sleep with you tonight?" She asked teasingly.

"Ugh. No, I'll be ok." I sighed, covering my face with my pillow.

Ignoring me, she slid under my blanket and snuggled up beside me.

"What are you doing? I said no"

"Well, you don't have a choice. I don't want you having anymore nightmares while I'm trying to get my beauty sleep." She said before turning her back towards me and went to sleep.

I swear, when I signed up for Danby, I didn't sign up for this. I still remember walking in my dorm and wondering who my roommate would be, only to have Samara walking in after I finished unpacking my stuff.

**Flashback:**

_It's a week until classes, but the sooner I get to my dorm, the easier it'll be to get aquatinted with the school, so I don't seem too much of a newbie on my first day. As I entered the campus, I was ecstatic. Everything seemed so different. I couldn't help but think about all the endless possibilities and opportunities that would present themselves to me this school year._

_I walked to the student information boot to find out where my dorm would be. I found 2 girls, a brunette and a blonde, filing throw some papers, not really paying much attention to the world outside them._

_"Hi, excuse me. I'm looking for Building F10, Room 375. Do you know where I can find it?" I said, smiling at both girls._

_"It should beeee...Straight up that catwalk over there. As soon as you see the huge water fountain, take a left and it'll be the first building you see, with all the glass in the front. Just take the elevator to the 3rd floor." The blonde said, returning the smile._

_I thanked her before venturing to my dorm room. It was so easy to find. This day couldn't possibly get any better. I felt as if destiny was putting me on the right path._

_As soon as I got in the room, I noticed it was more of an apartment. It had a kitchen that opened to the living room and a hallway with 3 doors. I'm guessing they lead to the 2 bedrooms and the bathroom. I decided that I'd choose a room for myself, since my roommate hasn't arrived as yet._

_I ended up taking the first room on the left. It had accented walls, a chandelier over the twin sized bed, French windows and it felt a lot like... Home._

_I started unpacking and getting familiar with the room that I'd be spending the rest of the school year in._

_After what felt like hours, I was done unpacking. "Why did I pack so many things" I thought to myself while running my hand through my raven black hair. I ventured to the kitchen and decided to make a sandwich, since I was feeling a little hungry._

_I heard the door knob turning and when I saw my roommate, I almost choked on my PB&J sandwich._

_"Samara?"_

_"Emily? I must have the wrong room!" She said, frowning as she looked at the door to see if it was the right number._

_"Awkward..." I mumbled to myself and started cleaning up my mess._

_"Well, looks like we're stuck with each other" she said, trying to sound as happy as possible._

_"Great!" I said, sarcastically._

**End of Flashback**

The first few weeks with Samara were a bit awkward, considering we didn't end on good terms, however, we managed to get over that rough patch and became good friends. Even though we live in the same dorm, we barely see each other, except at swim practice, history class, in the nights after she's done from the Newspaper Club or on the weekends.

I turned to see if she was still asleep, only to find her staring back at me.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" I asked, studying her face.

"I'm just a bit worried about you. You've been screaming in your sleep for an entire week now and every time I ask you what it's about, you insist that it's nothing." She said, concern emanating from her eyes.

It's true, I keep having all these nightmares about Ali. It's as if she was haunting my dreams, trying to tell me something. Every one of them were different, but they all start off with a calm, breath taking scene, then turn into something ugly. It's coming to the point where I dread falling asleep.

I turned my gaze to my ceiling. I bought some glue in the dark stars a few weeks ago and sticked them there, so that I can count them until I fell asleep, if I ever had problems sleeping.

I sighed and finally decided that I should talk to someone about what I've been dreaming.

"Well, I... I've been dreaming about Ali," I said, turning to see Samara's reaction. "It's always about her and I don't know why."

She didn't seem surprised. She simply gave me a small smile before speaking again. "You know, I once read a quote that said 'The people you love become ghosts inside of you... and like this, you keep them alive.' So, maybe you just miss her more than usual. Maybe there's something your dream is trying to tell you."

She got up to get something out of her room and returned quickly after, throwing a book on the bed.

"This is a dream dictionary. Next time you have another dream about her, look it up and try to make sense out of it." She said, her voice drenched in fatigue.

"Thanks, Sam! Now, go to sleep. I'm sure you have a busy day tomorrow." I smiled at her, as she got back in bed.

"I know, I know." She groaned but smiled as she looked at me, brushing my nose with the tip of her index finger. "Goodnight, Em Bear" finally going back to sleep.

I put the book on my nightstand and laid back down, watching her sleep. Sometimes I wonder if she still had feelings for me but - oh, why am I even thinking about this? If she did, I'm sure she'd have said something by now. After all, I was the one that messed things up with her, because of A. Maybe I should apologize about it tomorrow. I sighed, my thoughts frowning at me. I forced myself not to let my mind drift to that subject again, while counting the stars on my ceiling.

After what seemed like hours, I felt myself drifting back to sleep; reality fleeting away as the world turned to a stop, while everything went to black.


	2. Dreamer's Shore

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews/favs/follows, guys! I really appreciate it. I can't wait for you guys to see where I'm going to carry this story! Feel free to leave suggestions as well. I'm always open to them, but without further ado, let me introduce to you:**

**Emily POV**

Her eyes, the color of sapphire cosmos, glittered like the waves of the sea, as the sun shined it's spotlight onto it, before it slowly faded into the night sky. Oh - how the stars would be jealous. Her blonde locks spilled over her tanned shoulders, reminiscent of the ocean washing onto the beach, but slowly retreating.

There she was again, in her blue summer dress. Her arms stretched out, reaching for me. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, as I ran towards her. The space between us only seemed to expand, the harder I tried to get closer.

Alison Dilaurentis - unattainable as all the sunken treasures in the Atlantic, but just as desired, and sadly, to me, just as valuable. She was the dream girl that even my dreams wouldn't let me have.

A sudden shriek of horns rouse me out of my slumber.

I groaned as I realize it was my alarm, although I couldn't deny the fact that I was a bit appreciative of it, for once. It woke me up before my dream had the chance to morph into another nightmare. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I finally gained the energy and will power to sit up and turn it off.

Samara was still fast asleep beside me. She looked so peaceful, wrapped up in her blanket with a small smile across her face. Even with bed hair, she was still stunning.

I snapped out of my thoughts and got up to make breakfast for both of us. I decided I would go with French toast, bacon, sunny-side-up eggs and OJ. It was sort of a rule for the first person that woke up to prepare breakfast, and most of the time, that person would be Samara. Sometimes I would intentionally stay in bed, so that she'd have to cook instead of me. The thought made me chuckle a bit.

Before I was almost done, my phone notified me that I got a message. Ever since the birth of A, I dreaded text messages. I hesitantly checked to see who it was.

"Oh, Hannah!" a sense relief washing over me.

**_'Good morning, beautiful (; Ugh, I had to stay up allllllll night, listening to Aria talk about Jake. How lucky am I? - Seriously. Anyway, we SO need to catch up. Call me, when you get a chance. Xoxo, Han'_**

It's amazing how I can just imagine her saying that. It made me smile a little. I miss seeing her and the rest of the girls everyday, but we usually meet back up in Rosewood every other weekend. It always feels like we never left, when we do. We even have sleepovers at Spencer's house, just like old times.

I quickly replied to her message, letting her know that I've missed her and that I'll call her later. As soon as I put my phone down, I looked up and jumped a little. Samara was right in front of me, laughing at my reaction.

"Hey, Em. You look like you just saw a ghost" she smirked.

"You know, you really shouldn't sneak up on people like that" I tried my best to use a harsh tone, but failed miserably.

She walked beside me, getting a plate, "Well, you should really pay attention to your surroundings next time." She winked at me, before serving herself and venturing to the breakfast nook to eat.

I shrugged her off and got a plate, so that I can join her. We sat in silence, enjoying the food. I'm a bit surprised and a little impressed at how well the french toast came out. Let's just say, I'm not the best cook out there, but my taste buds would beg to differ right now.

After about 10 minutes, we were done eating. Samara volunteered to wash the dishes, since I prepared the food. I walked back in the kitchen, sitting around the island, watching her do the dishes, propping my head on one arm. We didn't have classes for 2 more hours, so we had time to kill.

"So, did any monsters come from under the bed while I was asleep?"

Why must she always torment my soul with her teasing? I shook my head, not able to hold back a smile.

"No, I actually had a decent dream about Alison this time" I blushed.

She finished drying the dishes, before sitting on the opposite side of the island. I guess that got her attention.

"Ohhh, aren't you going to tell me about it?" her lips curled into a devious smile.

"It's not that type of dream, Samara!" I snickered, playfully hitting her hand, before explaining my dream to her. She ran back to my room, retrieving her dream dictionary and taking back her seat opposite of me.

"So you saw her on a beach and you were running towards her?" she clarified, while looking up keywords in the book. After a brief moment of silence, her expression changed from meticulous to amused.

I looked at her curiously. "What? Did you find anything?" I asked while leaning towards her, with both of my elbows on the island to support my torso.

She put the book on the island, before reading what she found to me. "It says here that the beach symbolizes the meeting of two states of your mind. The sand represents your rational and mental processes, while the water signifies your irrational and emotional self." She paused, before continuing, "On the other hand, running towards her refers to your determination to go after what you want!" She wriggled her eyebrows, while putting emphasis on the last sentence.

I rolled my eyes at her. "So, what does all of that mean?"

"Basically, a part of you wants to forget about her and move on, but another part of you is still waiting and hoping that she'll come back." She closed the book, "And guess which side is winning?"

I sighed, not wanting to accept what she said, even though I know deep down that it's true.

"We should really start getting ready for classes" I decided to change the topic. She got up and raced to the bathroom before I even had the chance to get out of my seat.

"SUCKER!" She yelled from the hallway.

* * *

><p>I dreaded all my classes today. Actually, I always dreaded my classes on Friday. I just wanted the weekend to start already. I decided I would go to the pool early, so I can get in some laps before practice started.<p>

Before I opened the door, I heard music coming from around the pool. It sounded like that new Beyonce song that I loved so much,_ "Drunk In Love"._ I let curiosity get the best of me, so I looked through the glass and was a VERY shocked at what I saw. I swear if some one would tell me about this, I wouldn't believe it. It was Paige, on all fours, trying to mimic Beyonce's dance moves on the side of the pool.

I tried to hold in my laughter, while sneaking in the room. I ran on silently on my toes to the bleachers behind her. It was sooo hard not to laugh. I tried my best but as soon as she started yelling _"RIDE IT WITH MY SURFBOARD! SURFBOARD! SURFBOARD"_ I couldn't hold it in anymore. My body shook like tremors were running through it as I laughed violently. My eyes started watering, blurring my vision.

The music stopped and I tried my best to gain back control of my body. She looked so shocked and paler than usual. Her facial expression made me laugh even harder.

"EMILY?! What are you doing here so early?" She sounded irritated.

"I thought I would get in some laps before practice, but this is way more entertaining" I chuckled.

After Paige and I broke up, before I started dating Samara, we never got back. It didn't feel right at all. Sometimes I thought that I'd never be able to find the love that I felt for Alison again, at least not in anyone else but her. Everyone else seemed so mediocre in comparison. It's as if she held not only my heart, but my soul as well. Both of which know nothing about the existence time or distance. She was all they knew, all that they were willing to learn. Such stubborn things, I thought to myself.

Paige seemed so pissed off through out practice. I didn't even know that she was a Beyonce fan too. If I wasn't so nice, I'd forever tease her about what happened, but I'll just keep my comments to myself.

My swimming time was become more and more impressive, ever since I started training here at Danby. I felt pretty confident about the upcoming Olympic Trials Swim Meet. I'm not a psychic, but my instincts were telling me that I'd make it on the Olympic Team.

* * *

><p>After practice, I decided that I'd call finally call Hannah. I walked into my dorm, threw my bag on the couch, while dialing Hannah's number. She answered after the 3rd ring.<p>

"Hey, Beautiful!" I could hear the smile in her voice. "What's up?"

"Hey, Han! I just got back from swim practice. You'd never believe what I saw when I got to the pool today" I laughed as the event started replaying in my head.

"What? I'm all ears!" Hannah sounded excited. I started telling her about it and we both laughed hysterically throughout the entire story.

"NO WAY! So from a scale of 1 to 10, how were her dance moves?" she asked half joking, half serious.

"Negative 5, oh my gosh, she was so off beat! But - she does have a nice singing voice." I chuckled. "She was so mad during practice, it affected her swimming time, so coach made her stay back for some extra laps."

After we finally managed to stop laughing, Hannah began telling me about her week. She even passed the phone to Aria, so that we can catch up a bit as well. I knew that I missed them, but our little convo made me realize exactly how much. It was so refreshing hearing from them.

When we were done talking, I decided that I would take a shower. I forgot to bring my clothes in with me, so I wrapped a towel around myself and went into my room, straight to my closet. I was searching for about 5 minutes before I found my favorite PJs.

"I can get used to this" I heard a voice say, coming from behind me and I knew exactly who it was.

I rolled my eyes and turned to see Samara, sitting with her legs crossed on the side of my bed, arms folded infront of her chest and she was smirking - as usual. She had on dark blue skinny jeans, a black suede wedge heel and a black long sleeve lace Chiffon blouse. Her mermaid waves framed her picture perfect face. She was such a fashionista; I always admired her taste in clothes.

"Shouldn't you be at your Newspaper club, publishing kiddie stories?" I teased.

"I should be, but this is way better" she winked.

"You're impossible" I laughed as I headed back towards the bathroom to put on my PJs, but she pulled my wrist to stop me.

"Actually, Em. I'm here to ask you a favor." She said softly, putting on her best puppy dog face, with those piercing eyes of hers.

"And how can I be of service to you, your majesty?" I bowed jokingly.

She playfully hit my arm. "I actually have an interview tomorrow with the new sponsor of the swim team, but I have a meeting at the same time that I CAN'T miss, with an agency that's interested in my new swim wear designs." She paused for a bit, before continuing "...I was wondering if you'd be willing to do the interview for me." She asked, pleading with me.

"Woah, woah. You want me, the shyest person on the entire campus, to do an interview for you?" I was a bit shocked at the request.

"You're the only person that I know I can count on, Em. You know how much this means to me. I was just so excited about the agency calling, that I totally forgot I had the interview at the same time." Her eyes were practically begging me now. How could I say no?

"Fine, I'll do it. But you have to at least give me some background information and a list of questions that you want me to ask. I don't want to look like a babbling fool." I joked.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She got up and kissed me on the cheek. "I don't know what I'd do without you!" She started walking towards the door. "Oh, I left the information on the coffee table. I'll see you after I'm done at the club." She thanked me again before leaving.

I got dressed in my PJs, made some coffee and decided to check out the info she left. I sat down on the couch and grabbed the folder.

The name of the company caught me a bit off guard. _Darkbloom Enterprises._ "Hmm, Maybe it's just a coincidence." I mumbled to myself, taking a sip of my coffee before opening the folder to read.

I was a bit impressed. This company started 4 years ago and slowly started building up until it was a billion dollar enterprise, investing in electronics, new scientific studies and small businesses. They even donated half of a million dollars every year to charity. Impressive. Now I feel a bit intimidated to do this interview. Hopefully it's some old person that likes to talk a lot, so I don't have to do much talking.


	3. The Future's Past

**A/N: **_To MitchFever, I'll try my best to incorporate more of Samily's amazing friendship more into the story. To FallenxLeaves, your review made me smile SO hard. Thanks! And to everyone else that reviewed/fav/followed, thanks a whole bunch. You guys are the fuel to this story! Hope you enjoy this chapter._

**Emily POV**

"Emily! - Emily... Emily Fields!" I heard a distant voice echoing in a sing-song tone as the world around me started to shake.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty!" a gentle whisper tickled my ear.

Reality started seeping in, as my heavy eyelids slowly pried open. Rays of sunlight caressed every corner of the room, illuminating everything it touched - even the bewitching blonde trying to wake me up. Her hand brushing my wild raven hair as the smell of body wash and bacon stroked the walls of my lungs. What an odd mixture, I thought to myself.

I sat up against my headboard and rub the sleep from my eyes, so that I could get a better grip of the world around me.

"I decided I'd get up a little early and bring you breakfast in bed" Samara said, giving me the warmest smile I'd probably see all day, revealing an adorable dimple on her left cheek.

I admired the tray of delicious food that sat on the nightstand, before turning my gaze back to her, Involuntarily smiling like an idiot, "Aww, thanks, Sammy! To what do I owe the pleasure?" I teased.

"I needed to find someway to thank you for saving my ass today!" She playfully hit my arm.

I couldn't help but think about how happy I am that our friendship has blossomed to such a beautiful state. I always thought having her as a roommate would be super awkward, but she proved me wrong - and for that, I'm grateful.

I decided I'd pretend that I forgot about the interview, just to see her reaction. My alter-ego nodded in approval, while giving her finest evil villain impression.

I contorted my face in confusion, looking her straight in the eyes, "what are you talking about?" I asked, trying my best to sound as puzzled as possible.

I imagined my alter-ego giving me a standing ovation for such a great performance. It was so hard staying in character, but I was doing helluva job judging by the expression on her face; happiness quickly fading to concern.

"Em! Please don't tell me you forgot!" she pouted and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Forgot about what? I told you I was going to go back to Rosewood today!" She was making this WAY too easy for me.

Samara got up pacing back and forth panicking, while running her hands through her hair. I started to chuckle at the sight.

She ran back to the bed, tackling me after she finally caught on to the act that I was putting on.

"UGH! I'm totally going to get you back for this!" She pinned me down, tickling me until I couldn't take it anymore.

"STOP! ... Please! ... Samara!" I struggled to say in between giggles.

"I'm not done with you yet!" She winked, "You're just lucky that I have to get my portfolio together for this meeting." She said matter-of-factly, while getting off of me, after what felt like centuries of laughter-filled-torture.

I threw a pillow at her, while she quickly retreated to the hallway. "Your food is going to get cold, Em!" She yelled. I didn't even have to see her face to know that she was smirking.

I almost forgot about her kind gesture. I checked the time, noting that I had 2 hours and a half before the interview with the sponsor. I quickly ate so that I had enough time to find a nice outfit and be on schedule. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>I ended up putting together the perfect outfit! A black long-sleeved V-neck blouse, along with a satin blazer, a goldenrod high-waist pencil skirt with nude stockings and wedge heels. This was all complimented by pearl accessories, light makeup and a small faux leather purse. It seemed very fitting for the occasion, but just as stylish.<p>

The drive to the Darkbloom Tower was silent. I would usually put on my favorite Beyoncé songs and sing along, but I needed to gather my thoughts together so that I didn't make any mistakes. I was more nervous than I should be and I really didn't know why.

Half an hour later, I entered the building, after leaving my car in then underground parking lot. It wasn't hard to notice that a lot of planning went into every detail of this place. I was even more impressed, when I finally got into the lobby. Everything from the machinery to the guest check-in book was state-of-the-art. Actually, it wasn't even really a book, but more of a touch screen device. This was just a reflection of how successful the company was, and you can see why.

The decor literally_ screamed_ Feng Shui. Paneled white walls filled with abstract art, large mahogany doors, replica Greek statues, marble floors, and a large, luminous chandelier in the middle of the room that looked like it was made of nothing but the purest form of crystals that this earth had to offer.

Don't let me even get started on the furniture. They looked like they were teleported from the future, just to compliment this company that was surely ahead of its time. It was a good thing that I got here a bit early, because I was frozen in awe. The architecture was so breath taking.

"Good morning, is there anything that I can help you with?" a squeaky voice asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned around to meet the gaze of a grey-eyed petite brunette woman that looked like she was no older than 24-years-old. Her hair was pinned in a loose up-do, which contrasted with her ivory skin. She was sporting a white sheath dress and gold accessories. I scanned the area before answering her, noting that it seemed to be the uniform for the women here.

"Actually, yes. My name is Emily Fields and I'm here for an interview with Ms. Darkbloom, on the behalf of Danby University." I replied, giving her a small smile.

"Oh, follow me this way." she returned the smile before leading me to the elevator, hitting the button for the 9th floor.

The elevator was made out of glass, just like most of the building. You could clearly see the Pennsylvania skyline from here. This tower just seemed to get more and more beautiful as I ventured through out it. It was as if a surprise was around each corner and this made me even more nervous for this interview; if that was even possible.

When we arrived on the 9th floor, the brunette ushered me into a large executive office. Unlike most of the building, this room had warmer colors. The walls were dark red with portraits of famous painters and philosophers, and the floors were onyx-slate. There were two large mahogany bookshelves behind a desk and the furniture were just as brown as them.

"Ms. Darkbloom will be right with you. Would you like something to drink meanwhile? Maybe coffee or water?" she asked nicely.

"I'm good for now, but thank you for offering." I answered with a sincere smile. I was way too nervous to stomach anything right now.

"Ok, sure. Feel free to take a seat anywhere that you'd like." She smiled back before leaving.

* * *

><p>"Brittany, can you call Mr. Moretz and reschedule our meeting until tomorrow?" I heard a voice outside say. It sounded familiar - <em>too familiar<em>, actually. Maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me. I shook my head and fixed my skirt, trying my best to keep my composure.

The door knob turned and I got up to greet whoever it was on the other side. As the figure emerged, my knees wobbled and I was glad that I was standing next to a desk. I held on to it with dear life. This _had_ to be a hallucination - a mesmerizing, blue-eyed, heart-shaped face halluciation - but it wasn't. She seemed just as surprised to see me, frozen in her tracks. We stared at each other for what felt like ages, before she broke the silence.

"Em ... Emily?!" she stuttered. Just by that, you can tell that this affected her as much as it affected me. Alison wasn't really the type of person to stutter, muchless be frozen in shock.

"Ali? You're Ms. Darkbloom? - You're behind all of this?" I waved a hand, gesturing towards the office.

She smirked, finally looking like the Ali I knew. Her hair was no longer blonde, but more of a light brown with blonde streaks. I never knew brown hair would match so perfectly with blue eyes. She looked even more beautiful now than she did before, but maybe it's because she ages so well.

"Well, what better way to hide than in plain sight? **_A_** would never guess that I was capable of creating a company, much less one of the most successful ones in the country." she answered proudly.

I was impressed. Even more impress now, than I was when I first entered this place. A 21-year-old billionaire. How she came to this point, I'm not sure, but I was just happy that I finally got to see her after 2 years - _2 years too long, _my mind snickered. I thought I'd never get to see her again, after Spencer ruined our last moment together.

She started walking towards me, eyes burning into my soul. My mouth went dry and I mentally face-palmed myself for not taking the offer of water from the brunette earlier.

"I've missed you so much, Em" she held one of my hands and cupped my face with the other, searching my face for something. Exactly what she was looking for, I wasn't sure, but I couldn't help but getting lost in those deep eyes of hers.

"Then why didn't you come back for me? Why didn't you try to at least give me a call or an email or something?" my mouth betrayed me, spilling out my inner thoughts. Hurt flashed briefly in her eyes, but it was soon replaced with regret.

"I- I had a lot going on, Em. I was so busy making sure that this company was successful as it is now. The entire reason I started it was to find someway of tracking down A, but it ended up growing beyond that, to where it is now. You'd think that having access to top spy equipment and a contract to supply the CIA would bring me any closer." she rolled her eyes.

It wasn't much of an apology, but more of her trying to justify it. She was right, though. I'm sure she put a lot of time and effort into this company. I mean, look at it. Even someone twice her age would struggle to build something up from the ground like this.

She probably noticed that her answer didn't satisfy me, so she continued after brief silence, "The point is, you've found me now, without even looking. Destiny probably brought us back together for a reason," she leaned her forehead agaisnt mine, "I'm not going to let you go now" she finally said, before kissing me passionately. It was filled with all the answers to questions I never knew I had.

I pulled her closer, with my hands wrapped tightly around her waist, while she tangled her fingers in my hair. It quickly grew from passionate to heated. She hungrily licked my lower lip, before begging for entrance, which I gladly gave to her, however, I wasn't going to let her dominate it. I pushed her on top of her desk, deepening the kiss, which made her moan. 2 years of pent-up passion made me feel a rooted need to be as close to her as possible, and judging by the way she was kissing me back, I knew the feeling was mutual.

Our tongues collided and it felt ... magical. It wasn't just sparks, it wasn't just fireworks; it was an entire supernova. The most powerful outburst a celestial body can experience, outshining the entire galaxy. She was the degenerated dwarf, stunning as the sun and luminous as the moon. I'd forever be her companion star, feeding her enough energy until we both merged into one, exploding at our very core, showcasing to the universe, just how much we feel for each other - _how much we feel together._

We both stopped, reaching for air, foreheads still together. She gave me an Eskimo-kiss, caressing my cheek with her thumb. "Your so beautiful" she sincerely whispered. This was better than any dream my subconscious could ever generate. Her lips curved into a warm smile. I was wrong, I thought to myself. Samara didn't give me the warmest smile I'd see all day; Alison did. I smiled back at her, wickedly.

"We should really start this interview." she said breathlessly, making me frown. "So that I can take you out for lunch afterwards and finish what we started." she pecked me on the lips once more, winking before she went to sit around her desk.

"Well, since you put it that way..." a permanent smile plastered across my face.


	4. Blues and Booze

**A/N: **_Did you guys enjoy last night's episode? My heart literally broke at the sight of Ali in tears. /: So, I decided I'd do this Chapter in Alison's POV, since Emily's been doing all the talking so far, but don't worry, Samara will still be involved in it. Let's see what happens when Alison meets her. Also, thanks for the reviews, Guize. I really appreciate it! I have to admit, the last chapter was influenced by 50 Shades of Grey, however, Ms. Darkbloom isn't another Mr. Grey. Although, they might have certain things in common. (; Enjoy and let me know if you have suggestions!_

**Alison POV**

I mentally traced every inch of Emily's perfectly sculpted face, during the interview. Every fiber of her being enticed me; the way her eyes lit up as she watched me under her thick eyelashes, the way her full lips shyly curled at the ends whenever she asked something embarrassing, the way a portion of her cheek would form a vortex spiraling down to my very core, exposing a small dimple as she smiled, and most importantly, the way she filled up the incompleteness within me, until I was overflowing with happiness. She made me feel something no one else could - love; unconditional, zestful ... love.

I usually would avoid the media/press, but my gut feeling was telling me that I should've done this, and let's face it, my gut feeling was always right. That's how I managed to evade A for so long and stay alive. That bitch thought that _she.. he.. shim.. it.._ would ruin my life, but looking at it right now, it couldn't be better - especially with Emily by my side.

"So, where are you taking me?" She asked in a low voice that brought butterflies in my stomach.

"Wouldn't you like to know." I smirked. "It's a surprise."

She rolled her eyes, trying to suppress a smile as the elevator doors opened. I took her hand in mine, as we ventured into the lobby. I'm pretty sure she shivered at the sudden contact of skin, which made me grin in pleasure.

"Looks like I still have that effect on you." I winked and she instantly blushed.

"Don't let it get to your head, it's already big enough." She said, chuckling.

I pretended to be hurt, but I couldn't help but laugh along with her. The feeling of burning stares followed us throughout the walk to the exit. I guess my employees aren't used to seeing me being so ... Intimate, for a lack of a better word, with someone. Though I don't blame them; I'm usually very professional with my guests, but Emily isn't just any guest. She's my ... soul mate, if there really is such a thing.

"Ms. Darkbloom!" Brittany rushed in front of us. "Is there anything that you want me to do, before you leave?" she asked.

"Now that you mention it, yes, Brittany. I know I only asked you to reschedule the meeting with Mr. Moretz earlier, but can you clear everything else for the rest of the day? I have unfinished business that I need to attend to." I said sternly. If only my clueless secretary would catch on to the innuendo.

"Of course, Ms. Darkbloom. I'll see you tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your day." Brittany replied, before smiling at Emily and then trailing back to her office.

"So I'm 'unfinished business' now, huh?" Emily teased, while tugging my hand that held hers.

"No, but we do have unfinished business to attend to." I smirked.

After a few minutes, my driver finally arrived at the entrance in my most prized vehicle - a black slate Mercedes G55 AMG. I admired the freshly waxed exterior as he came around to open the door for us to get in.

"Thank you, Gregorio. Oh, before you get back in, I'd like you to meet Ms. Emily Fields. You'll probably be seeing her a lot after this, so it's only right." I smiled at him, although he looked a bit puzzle. Finally her turned to Emily after he broke out of whatever thoughts he was having.

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Fields." He sincerely smiled at her.

Emily blushed and shook his extended hand. "It's nice to meet you too, Gregorio."

As he got back into the SUV, I whispered our destination and he nodded his head. I can't wait to see Emily's face when we finally get there.

* * *

><p>"Is this real life?!" Emily asked incredulously, excitement coursing through her eyes as we stared at the breath taking, waterfront Italian restaurant.<p>

"No, Killer. I teleported us to an alternate universe when you weren't paying attention." I teased, while attempting to drag her inside.

"Ha, ha. That was so funny, I forgot to laugh." She playfully pushed me away, but quickly pulling me back to face her "How did you know that _Osteria Francescana_ is my favorite restaurant?"

"Maybe I've been keeping tabs on you." I quickly said, stumbling each word over each other, trying to avoid the topic.

"Hmm, couldn't quiet keep away, could you?" She seemed amused.

Before I could answer her, a random guy walked up to us, staring at Emily and totally ignoring me.

"Did it hurt?" He asked. I rolled my eyes. Obviously he's trying some stupid pick up line on _MY_ girl. Jealously slowly started building up as I saw the way he was looking at her.

"What?" Emily asked innocently._ Oh, sweet, innocent Emily. _I guess that part of her was the only thing that didn't really change.

"When you fell from heaven." He continued, obviously not embarrassed at his sad attempt of picking up a girl. I can't stand here and listen to this.

"No, but I scrapped my knee climbing out of hell." I sneered, dragging Emily back into the restaurant, before he could say anything else.

I heard her giggling as we were greeted by the hostess. "Welcome to Osteria Francescana! My name is Alexis. How can I assist you today?"

"Thank you, Alexis! I'd like a table for two, please. A private booth on the balcony, preferably."

"Sure, follow me and I'll make sure you have the best booth the restaurant has to offer." She smiled.

We followed her onto the wooden balcony, which was designed like a cave. High rock walls wrapped over the entire dining area, leaving a broad opening at the end of the balcony, overlooking the sea, which made the sun look even more beautiful reflecting on it. The walls had many openings, which light bulbs were cemented in, and all the tables had 3 candles in the middle, covered by glasses. Alexis lead us to the closest booth to the edge and she wasn't kidding, when she said she'd get us the best one.

"Your waitress will be right with you. In the mean time, here are your menus and some water. Enjoy!" Alexis gleefully said, before walking away.

It didn't take us too long to decide what we wanted. A pretty blonde approached a few minutes after to take our order. For the main course, I ordered a Baked Ziti with breadsticks and eggs on the side, and Emily ordered a Calzone. We both agreed on Red Velvet Cheesecake for dessert along with Pink Martinis.

"Ok. Got it. How would you like your eggs?" asked the waitress.

"Fertilized." I answered seriously, wriggling my eyebrows, not taking my gaze off of Emily. Her cheeks instantly flushed.

The waitress laughed, "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

"Oh, I mean ... poached, please." I finally looked back at the waitress, I shook my head and grinned wickedly.

"Ok, your dinner should be ready in 15 minutes. I'll be right back with your drinks." I watched her as she walked off.

"You're such a perv," Emily Chuckled "So, what's the name that you're going by now, Ms. Darkbloom?"

"Madison Darkbloom, darling" I answered jocosely. "I decided I'd keep the last name, after **_A _**found out about Vivian. **_A_** would probably think that it's a bit foolish to do such a thing, so I figured he/she wouldn't expect it from the clever Alison Dilaurentis they knew." I shrugged.

Emily nodded in agreement. "So, who did you think **_A_** was? or what did you find out about them?" She was now gazing at me intently.

"Well, I had some P.I's on the case, and we tracked down a bank account that belonged to a private organization." I took a sip of water, and continued, "**_A_** doesn't stand for _Anonymous_, or .._Alison_ or even _Alcoholics Anonymous._" I scowled at the thought, before being interrupted by the waitress.

"Here are your drinks. Your food will be ready soon. Is there anything else that you'd like me to get, meanwhile?" She pleasantly asked.

"I'm good. How about you, Em?"

"That's all for now, but thank you." Emily smiled at the waitress, before she strolled back into the restaurant.

"So, what does **_A_** stand for?" I chuckled at how fast she returned to the topic. _So curious..._ I thought to myself.

"Athena - Greek Goddess of wisdom and skill, warfare and tactics." I swiveled my martini, before taking a sip.

"Does that mean that big A is a .. woman?" Emily furrowed her eyebrows.

"Possibly. The most I could find out about them is that they have about 20 employees and they're located somewhere here in Pennsylvania." I paused before expatiating, "The exact address, the list of employees and the name of the founders are under serious lock and key. They probably have someone, or a number of people, in high places to keep it that way too."

Our lunch date continued along these lines. Emily was so inquisitive about everything that I've been doing to keep track of the infamous **_A_**, and I promised myself that I wouldn't keep any information away from her anymore, even if it wasn't_ some big disco ball of purity._ I thought she'd be a little overwhelmed with everything that I had to say, I mean, I'm not the type of person to give too much info, but she seemed to be taking it really well. Hopefully this will let her know just how much I trust her.

* * *

><p>As we walked out of Osteria Francescana, we found Gregorio waiting with the door opened for us. Emily invited me to her dorm, so she gave Gregorio the address, as he revved up the engine.<p>

"Hey, Em, can I see your phone?" I asked, trying to sound innocent as possible.

She gave me it without asking any questions. _Hmm, Interesting._ I unlocked it and dialed my number, so that I can get hers. I ended the call as my phone started ringing, before deleting her call log and giving her back the phone. I wanted to have a little fun with her, before I let her save my number.

"What was that for?" Emily asked, a bit puzzled.

"I wanted your number..." I smirked, choosing not to elaborate.

"You could've just asked, you know." She smiled reassuringly at me and I locked our fingers together.

"I know, but what's the fun in that?" I pressed a button to roll up the partition for some privacy, as I leaned my forehead against hers, staring into her hauntingly-soulful chocolate eyes. She pinched my chin between her thumb and index finger, totally taking me by surprise as she closed the gap between us. We kissed each other, ever so softly. I wrapped my arms around her neck, as she held me around my waist. After all these years apart, I wouldn't allow myself to just settle for bits and pieces of her anymore; I wanted_ all_ of her. I wish it didn't take so long for me to realize this, but I'm so glad that she waited for me.

Emily reminded me of a Shakespearean book. No matter how hard I tried to read her, I could never quite figure her out. I guess that's why she was so captivating. She had her own language; her own rhyme scheme. Every line was laced with mystery, and I just wanted to explore every inch of her, like my favorite book.

I got up and sat in her lap, not breaking the kiss, which was still soft and slow. I let my hand trail up and down her spine and she quivered under my finger tips. We both gasped for air as the vehicle stopped.

"We have arrived!" Gregorio announced. We quickly pulled ourselves together, before venturing outside.

"Thanks, Gregorio!" Emily yelled before closing the door.

"I'll let you know when to come back." I added, a bit out of air.

Emily grabbed my arm and led me back to her dorm, which was on the 3rd floor.

"Is your roommate going to be here?" I asked, hoping she'd say no.

"Oh, no. Her name is Samara and I doubt she'll be here until nightfall. She had a big meeting with a fashion agency today." Emily answered, while opening the door. "She's an aspiring swimwear designer, you know."

"Nice, looks like I'm not the only entrepreneur around here." I smirked.

She pulled me inside, closing the door before pushing me on the coach.

"Woah, Killer. Aggressive much?" I teased.

She chuckled as she sat beside me, pulling me into another kiss. It was all going well, until I noticed the lights were flickering.

"Is.. that.. normal?" I said between kisses. She pulled away, staring deep into my eyes, before she finally noticed what I was referring to.

As Emily got up to examine the room more, the lights went out. We were completely surrounded by nothing but darkness. I took out my phone to use the flashlight app.

"Here, use this." I gave her my phone. As she flashed the light towards the kitchen, a hooded figure dashed across the room.

"Oh - my - God. This is not happening!" Emily yelled, sounding more angry than scared. She pulled out something from her bag, and I noticed that it was a knife. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you." She whispered, while grabbing one of my hands.

We walked into the kitchen, finding nothing, but suddenly, the sound of a door closing echoed through the hallway. Emily started walking towards it, "Sounds like it came from my room." she stated, whispering so low, that if I wasn't focusing on her, I wouldn't be able to hear it.

As we got into her room, all the lights came back on, but I noticed that someone was in her bed.

"Emily, look!" I pointed.

She let my hand go, slowly walking towards the bed, with the knife ready to jab anyone that dared to attack us. As she got near the bed, the hooded figure sprang to life, surprising both of us. I felt like my soul jumped out of my body and entered back in less than a second.

"I AM YOUR FATHER!" Said the hooded figure, which had on a Darth Vader mask.

I face palmed myself. This was too ridiculous to not be a joke. Emily pulled off the mask, revealing a bewitching blonde. Her blue eyes danced with amusement as she saw our reactions.

"SAMARA! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! That was NOT funny!" Emily screamed at her, before pinning her down to the bed.

I'm not sure if I was jealous or a entertained by this. _Perv_, my subconscience snickered at me. I laughed as I leaned against the door, watching the scuffle unfold.

"PULL HER HAIR, EMILY!" I yelled, rooting for her.

"Aren't you going to help me?!"

Well, who would miss out on an invitation like that? I grabbed a pillow and started hitting Samara with it. I didn't even know her yet and I'm already attacking her. That's going to be an interesting first impression.

They both grabbed a pillow afterwards and it turned into a huge pillow fight.

After about 15 minutes, we were all out of breath.

"I told you that I wasn't done with you yet, Em!" Samara hit Emily once more with her pillow. I laid there, too tired to wonder what Emily possibly did to her.

"Oh, Samara, this is... Madison. Madison Darkbloom." Emily announced. Samara quickly sat up, as if she got hit by a thunder bolt or something. Her head started to bounce between Emily and I, before finally settling on me.

"You're Ms. Darkbloom? as in, THE Ms. Darkbloom?" She seemed a _REALLY_ surprised.

"Why, yes. Yes, I am." I smiled at her, while sitting up.

She pulled me into a bear hug instantly, "It's SO nice to meet you! I was supposed to interview you today, but I had a meeting I couldn't miss, so I sent Emily instead."

_It's a good thing that she did,_ I thought to myself.

"It's nice to meet you too, Samara!" I answered sincerely, releasing myself from her death hug. She seemed really nice. I can totally see us becoming good friends.


	5. The Tales of the Stars

**A/N:**_ I never thought writing in Alison's POV would be so complicating, but I do like challenges. Let me know how I'm doing and which chapter's your favorite. Also, thanks for the reviews! It definitely gets me excited to write more. *hint hint* haha. If you're wondering, yes, all the liars will be involved in a very big way soon. I'll let them reunite, along with Ali, when I'm done constructing the back bone of the story. Nevertheless, enjoy! (;_

**Alison's POV**

"I'm a bit confused," Samara's ice-blue eyes scrutinizing me, "how old are you? I mean, I thought you'd be like... I don't know... at least 32-years-old, but here you are, looking like you drank the fountain of youth dry." She asked, catching me off guard. I involuntarily slipped into a fit of laughter._ Oh, we can definitely be friends._

"Old enough..." I winked. Emily immediately hit me with her pillow in protest. I apologetically looked at her, before returning my gaze to the enthralling blonde. "I mean, I'm 21." I answered, rolling my eyes.

Samara stared at me in utter disbelief, trying to find her voice again. "You're 21-years-old with a billion dollar company, WOW!" She said, shaking her head, trying to find the right words for her next question, I assume.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you start the company? I mean, this is beyond inspiring to me right now." Her eyes were filled with more questions than my mind had, when I started questioning my sexuality._ All thanks to Emily,_ my mind blithely added.

"I sold my soul to the devil in return for all the riches and luxuries in the world, obviously." I teased.

Both Emily and Samara blankly stared at me. Please don't tell me that they actually think I'm serious. I mean - come on, do people actually do that!?

"Guys, I'm kidding!" I said in defense, however, two pairs of antagonizing eyes never left me. I sighed in defeat. "When my grandmother died, she left my brother and I in her will, so I invested the money in small businesses and new products." I explained.

"You know - I was actually considering the possibility of you selling your soul." Samara stated, finally chuckling, "and if I didn't know better, I'd even consider the possibility of you being a vampire or some sort of immortal being."

"Well, maybe I am an immortal being. Who knows." I bantered.

"Yeahhhh, surely you are." Emily said sarcastically. I mockingly grinned at her.

Samara turned her attention to Emily after noticing our friendly exchange, "You guys seem like you've known each other forever." This was more of an observation, not a question. I can see why she's apart of the Newspaper Club.

Emily looked at me for help, which made me realize that we really needed to have a talk about who we'd tell the truth to and who we'd sell some fabricated story to - of which, I really prefer the latter. I know all too well that_ telling the truth to the wrong person was how I ended up where I did._

"I guess Emily has a habit of bringing strays home." I interrupted jokingly, before continuing, "let's just say, when we saw each other, we instantly clicked. It felt like being reunited with an old friend - _or lover._" Oops. The last part was almost a whisper, geared towards myself, but being the keen person Samara seemed to be, I knew she heard it as well.

"So that means you're-"

"Gay?" I butt in and she shook her head in agreement.

"Errr, not necessarily." I paused a bit, trying to figure out how I'd explain this without revealing too much. A lightbulb lit up a few seconds later. "I've dated guys in the past, but only because it was what I was told to do, or what I was taught was the right thing to do. But, I've never been attracted to them, like at all. So, I'd usually end up breaking up with these guys after a short period of time, simply because there always was this ... void; this ... emptiness. However, I wasn't attracted to girls either."

I took another pause, garnering enough courage for what I was about to say.

"At least not until I saw your roommate over here." I said, gesturing towards Emily, "there's just something about her and up to this point, I really don't know what it is, but I just knew that I had to get to know her. So, I guess you can say that I'm Em-sexual."

Samara stared at me in bewilderment, trying to digest everything I dished out. She turned back to Emily, who was trying to hide her face, but it was obvious that she was blushing really hard.

"I swear this is like some sort of fairy tale. I am totally shipping you guys." Samara grabbed us into a group-bear hug. I guess she really like hugs.

"And you!" She released us and looked me dead in the eyes. I hope she isn't going to threaten me about hurting Emily. That would only make me regret how I treated her in the past even more. _Ugh, I hate those memories._

"Where can I find another one of you? You're way too cute. Do you have any siblings?" She chuckled, stroking the tip of my nose with her index finger.

"Hey! She's mine!" Emily interrupted, while pushing Samara away and laughing.

_I can totally get used to this._

We spent most of the afternoon talking and I got to know Samara a little better. She's such a free spirit; I can see why Emily and her get a long so well. I wonder if she's- no, I doubt she is. I mean, if she was, wouldn't Emily be interested in her? She's not only beautiful on the outside, but also on the inside and she has an amazing accent. Stop torturing yourself, my mind scolded. I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind, noting that it was getting late. I made my assistant, Liam, drive Emily's car back to the campus and I'd give him a ride back.

Emily volunteered to walk me back to my vehicle, even though I told her that she didn't have to. I wish I wouldn't have to leave her, even if it was only temporarily. It's been too long, since we've seen each other. Prolonging our good-byes, I kissed her until her lips bruised, before finally getting in the G55.

* * *

><p>As I entered my three story Chateauesque-styled house, I enabled my home security system and ventured to my favorite room - the den, which was conveniently located on the 3rd floor due to it's design. It had tall textured walls, granite floors and a three-paneled window that extended to the roof, overlooking the pool in the backyard. The ceiling was made of glass with a wooden spiral staircase that led to the attic, which I converted to another bedroom.<p>

I threw myself on my couch, admiring the way the pool seemed to glow at night. I just couldn't get my mind off of Emily. Images of today kept flashing in my mind, until I found my favorite moment. I remember watching her twirling around on the balcony at the restaurant. Gravity seemed to be in love with her, as much as I was. It allowed her to gracefully move in a way others couldn't, almost as if she was constantly dancing with the wind. It also allowed her to keep grounded, despite whatever turmoil floated around her. And even though I appreciate the way gravity blessed her, I have a love/hate relationship with it. It cursed me to let me fall into it's perpetual pull, but never making me quite land; I would forever be falling into an abyss of love for her, willingly letting it engulf my mind, body and soul.

I wish she'd know exactly how much I love her, and how much she's gotten me through, even if she wasn't there physically. I grabbed my bag that sat parallel to me, taking out my friendship bracelet and started caressing it. This bracelet was more valuable than all my possessions put together. It was the only thing, next to pictures, that reminded me of Emily. I never left home without it, because I always wanted a piece of her to be with me wherever life took me.

A sudden unwanted memory started playing over in my mind.

* * *

><p><em>FLASHBACK:<em>

_"Do you have the money?" I asked Shana, desperately. -A was hot on my trail after he/she found me at the Busy Bee Inn. I needed to get away, far far away until it was safe to return._

_There was silence on the other line for a brief moment, before she answered. "No. I have to go." I heard a click and then the call ended._

_I pulled out my purse, counting how much money I had before I boarded the first bus to the next city. I only had $18. What can possibly I do with that? But if I don't keep moving, -A will surely find me and finished me off, and all that I've done so far would be for nothing. So, I tried my best to put myself together and got on the bus._

_I pulled out my friendship bracelet and tears came pooling out. I couldn't hold them back anymore. I was so close to returning and Shana let me down. I shouldn't have let her in, I shouldn't have trusted her. I just can't keep running away for my entire life. I was literally on the verge of a mental break down. Everything that could possibly go wrong did._

_"Ali? is that you? Are you ok?" a sob died in my throat as I glanced over._

_"Emily?" even though it came out as a whisper, my voice still managed to crack at the end._

_She rushed to take the seat beside me and pulled me into a hug, trying to console my broken soul. I leaned my head against the crook of her neck and wrapped my arm around her. I couldn't manage to hold back the tears, even though I was in the arms of the one person that I've been trying so hard to return to all this while._

_We sat there in silence, holding on to each other with dear life. It was exactly what I needed to calm down, and she understood that. After all, she was the only person that completely understood me._

_"I'm sorry, Em."_

_"Why are you sorry, Ali?" she was now gazing into my eyes and I noticed the unshed tears in hers._

_"I tried so hard to take down -A and - and, I failed. I failed to protect you guys. I failed to protect-"_

_Emily suddenly kissed me. I don't know if it was because I was rambling, but I'm glad that she did. It gave me the courage to keep pushing forward and revived the motivation to get rid of that bitch._

_I heard a distant bell ringing, followed by an electronic voice._

_"Welcome to Riverhaven!"_

_I woke up and after I got over the fact that it was only just a dream, it was enough to start all over again._

* * *

><p>I took out my phone, remembering that I had Emily's number and decided to text her. Or, I can always prank her.<em> Hmm. This should be fun.<em>

**_'Hey, saw your ad on Craigslist for a dominatrix, and I'm willing to role-play with you.'_**

I chuckled, hoping that she'll answer. My phone started beeping 5 minutes later.

**_'Sorry, that position just got filled.'_**

_WHAT?_ another beeping sound broke me out of my thoughts.

_**'Ali, I know it's you. Xx, Em.'**_

_**'Was it that obvious?'**_ I replied.

She instantly sent back a message. Wow, I forgot that she was a fast texter.

_**'Yeah, you're the only perv that would try to prank me like that. :P'**_

Seriously, am I really a perv? _Yes,_ my subconscious answered.

_**'Ugh. I guess I'll have to find some other way to prank you. So, what are you doing tonight?'**_

_**'Not you. Xx.'**_ She answered. This made me laugh a little too hard.

_**'And you say I'm the perv. I meant that in the most innocent way possible, but thanks for crushing my dreams. ):'**_

_**'Aww, I'm sorry. I'm actually going to the gym and do some homework when I return, but I'm totally free tomorrow.'**_

I quickly checked calendar to see what I had to do tomorrow. I had a meeting at 9AM and another at 11AM, but I should be done by 1PM.

_**'Do you want come over for lunch and maybe spend the night? I can pick you up.'**_ I realized how that sounded after I sent it. _Damn._ She answered before I could correct myself.

_**'A part of me is hoping that you meant that in an innocent way as well, but another part is hoping that you didn't. (; It's a date.'**_

I can't help but grin until my face felt like it would split in half.

_**'Shy in the streets and sexy in the sheets, huh? Lmao.'**_ I teased.

_**'Omg, I totally forgot about that. Haha, I'll see you tomorrow, babe. I'm heading to the gym now. Xx, Em.'**_

The urge to tell her that I love her right was so strong, but I didn't want to seem like I'm moving fast.

_**'Can't wait to see you tomorrow. Goodnight, beautiful. Xx'**_


	6. The Vacant Moon

**A/N: **_Hey, guize! Shadow Play is tomorrow. Who's excited? I know I am! (: This chapter is going to be in Emily's POV, and the next is going to be in Alison's. All the following chapters shall be in that order, or maybe I can do one in Samara's POV. Let me know what you think. This Chapter will be a little longer than usual. Also, thanks for all the kind reviews/favs/follows. They mean the world to me. (: _

**Emily's POV**

Many question the origin of our earth's natural satellite, the moon. Some say that it was the byproduct of a collision millions of years ago, some say that it was a spaceship, with a hollow interior where beings lived observing us, some people even say that it was the home of aliens, who roamed in its darkest areas. Oh, how the unknown ignites our imagination and awakens our inner Sherlock Holmes.

Alison was much like this moon - _a part of her was always hidden away_; she only showed what she wanted you to see and that's what made it so worrisome. At least you can look at the calendar or the news and know what phase the moon was in, but Alison wasn't like that. You never knew whether she'd have a solar eclipse, blocking you out and not giving you the time of day, or whether she'd have a lunar eclipse, letting you have your glory and assist her in lighting up the night's sky.

I turned to check the time and noticed that it was already 4:20AM. Ugh, I couldn't fall asleep with all these thoughts spiraling in my mind. I stared blankly at the glowing stars on my ceiling and started counting them. 1 soon became 10, 10 soon became 30, 30 soon became 75, and before I knew it, I was finally fast asleep.

Blurred images formed into sharp objects, buildings started rocketing out of the ground, streets rolled under my feet like a red carpet at a big event and people popped out of thin air as if it was the norm. I did a 360 degree turn, soaking in my new environment. _This has to be a dream._

As I looked to the sky, I saw that this city was in some sort of dome. A newsstand was standing towards my left, so I walked over to check it out and hopefully find out where the hell I was and what's going on around here. I grabbed the first paper I saw, which read _'Shackleton Dome Times'_.

I looked up after briefly scanning through the paper, feeling someone's burning glare tanning every inch of me. It was a strange looking man. He had light-blue tinted skin with a plastic sheen and he had a cat shaped face. His huge green animalistic eyes scanned every movement I made and it made me feel uncomfortable. _I wonder if he's the vendor._

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit lost. Can you tell me where I am?" I asked him nicely.

"You are on Madison Avenue." a robotic voice replied, catching me a bit off-guard. Images of humanoid robots taking over the world and destroying humanity started flashing in my mind. _You watch way too much movies,_ my alter-ego whispered.

"Thank you. What date is it?" finally finding my tongue to speak again. This was literally a_ 'cat got your tongue moment'_, considering the fact that he did have a cat's face. Who'd design such a thing?

"Today is February 10th, 2126 and the time is now 15:00." He answered almost immediately. "Would you like to purchase a paper, ma'am?"

"Oh, my bad." I shook my head, forgetting I had it in my hand, "I was just looking to see where I was. Here you go." He hovered towards me, taking it and returned to his booth.

_What the hell did I eat before I went to sleep? _

I started walking around aimlessly, looking at all the stores and builing on the way. It felt like I was in New York, but a very _'The Jetsons'_ type New York excluding the flying cars. You'd think by now they'd at least invent flying cars, but I guess they preferred making bestiality inspired robots. Hah, the thought made me laugh a bit.

I walked towards the tallest building that I saw in the area, and decided I'd check it out. I mean, it was my dream, so I should be able to walk in like I owned the place - or since I was feeling a bit bold, like I was the H.B.I.C. _You are so pathetic_, my alter-ego sneered.

When I walked in, I was greeted by a female robot. She looked like she came straight out of that movie, iRobot. _Oh God._ I hope her eyes didn't turn red too.

"Welcome back to the Darkbloom Tower, Ms. Fields! Ms. Darkbloom is expecting you." she said pleasantly.

"Thank you. I'll go straight up to her office." I replied while nodding. The iRobot lady simply smiled, making chills run down my spine. _Talk about creepy._

The elevator seemed to be more of a teleportation machine. It had a translucent-blue membrane that zapped you straight to your destination. I hit 9 on the holographic device outside the elevator, before venturing in. It only took about a second, I'm guessing, to get on the 9th floor - or Cloud 9, considering it does take me to see Alison.

I ventured into the executive office. It looked almost like Alison's real office, but digital and with a lot more pictures around. I walked around, trying to find all the differences but a specific photo caught my eye. Tears started forming as I heard cracks in my heart forming.

_This is unbelievable!_

I picked up the framed picture and stared at it, hoping that the image would change, but it didn't. It was a photo of Ali and Samara kissing, while a small blonde child sat between them.

"What are you doing?" a voice behind me asked.

I turned to see Alison gazing curiously at me.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" hurt surged through my voice as I grew angrier by the second. Alison was now looking at me as if I were a crazy person.

"My wife and I?" she answered, raising an eyebrow.

A million and one emotions started forming within me. I tried searching for one to focus on, but none of them were brave enough. It was just too painful to stand here, looking at her, so I stormed out of her office.

"EMILY! WAIT!" Alison shouted, but I didn't want to talk to her.

I knew this was a dream, but it felt so real. I ran to the elevator and out the building. I ran as far as I can go, trying to wake myself up. And when I did, I found myself sobbing heavily as someone stroked my hair.

"Emily, are you ok?" Samara asked. "Are you still having nightmares?"

"Yes." I choked out.

She pulled me into a hug, rubbing my back up and down, trying to sooth me.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, after I started to calm down. "Remember, I do have that dream dictionary."

"I- I don't know." I didn't know how I'd tell her that I dreamt that the love of my life left me for her. Or, at least that's what the dream implied.

"You know, dreams aren't literal things." She stated matter-of-factly, as if reading my thoughts.

I sighed. She's always right. I sat up on the bed, facing her in a yoga position. She mimicked my position and stared intently at me.

"I- I dreamt that.. I was in the future, and I went to the Darkbloom Tower. There were a bunch of robots and one of them even looked like a cat." I started to explain to her, explaining all the insignificant details just to prolong telling her what was really bothering me.

"Andddd you and Madison were married with a kid." I quickly said, trying hard not to blush.

To my surprise, Samara was actually entertained. I thought she would be surprised, but she threw head back, laughing uncontrollably.

"You were jealous, weren't you?" she teased.

I threw my pillow at her. She's always teasing me.

She looked back at me, tilting her head as her eyes danced with amusement.

"You know, Madison and I would make a really nice couple." Her lips formed a devious curve, which quickly faded away as I gave her the evil eyes.

"I'm kidding, Emily!" she apologized, while pulling a book from the nightstand. "And, if you haven't noticed, I prefer brunettes." She winked. _Oh God. _

After looking through her dream dictionary, she finally seemed to decode my cryptic dream.

"Ok, the cat/man/robot/thing represents misfortune and someone being treacherous towards you. I swear - if anyone hurts you, I'll personally kill them!" Her eyebrows furrowed. She's too cute when she threatens to kill people.

"The robots indicate that you've lost the ability to express your feelings and the entire futuristic theme means that you fear how things will turn out." She paused before continuing, "And last, but not least, the part about her being with me represents your fear of being abandoned. It might also mean that you feel that you're not meeting their expectations."

"That would explain a lot, I mean, I was thinking about all of that before I went to sleep." I shyly admitted.

Samara reached for both my hands and looked me dead in the eyes, before speaking again. "Emily, you shouldn't feel that way. From what I've seen, Madison adores you as if you two were already newly weds. Anyone would be more than lucky to have such a sweetheart like you and if they don't realize how much of a catch you are, they don't deserve to be with you, much less in your presence."

The sincerity in her words made me start tearing up again. If it weren't for Alison, I'd probably asked her on a date right at this moment, but that's not where my heart was. So, I did what anyone else in my position would do. Hug her.

"Emily, you're killing me!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize how tight I was hugging you." I let her go and continued speaking, "Thank you for always being there for me, Sammy. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Anytime, Em Bear." She gave me that warm smile of hers and leap off the bed. "I'll go and make breakfast for both of us. It's 11AM already and I need to start writing that article about the interview you did."

Damn, I didn't know it was that late. I need to start getting ready because Alison is going to be here in 2 hours to pick me up.

"I'll go and get ready, while you do that. A-_ I mean_, Madison invited me over to her house today and I might sleep over, so - don't wait up on me." It felt so weird referring to her as Madison. I fear that I might slip up one of these days and reveal Alison's identity. I really wish I didn't have to lie to Samara.

"You're staying over on the first night, huh? Hmm - Kinky. Don't forget to pack protection!" Samara giggled.

"Whatever!" I shouted as I went to get ready.

Since it was Sunday, I felt like being very casual. I wore a "Thing 2" crop top along with jumper shorts and a red low-cut converse.

"Cute outfit!" Samara smirked as I walked out, admiring me from head to toe.

"You know, you should really get a job at UPS." I said, trying to sound serious.

"Why?"

"Because I'm pretty sure you were checking out my package." I joked.

Samara smirked - as usual. "Maybe I will," she said as she sipped her coffee.

I sat parallel to her at the breakfast nook, since Samara already had a plate waiting there for me. We talked about everything and nothing as we ate breakfast. She was always such a pleasure to converse with.

* * *

><p>Alison called me, letting me know that she was waiting in the parking lot for me. I grabbed my bag and gave Samara my goodbyes. All the thoughts I had last night and the dream started to haunt my mind again. Whoever said time heals all wounds probably never experienced unrequited love. Uncertainty plagued my mind, threatening to kill every hope and happy memory that I had. Who knew that the perfect world you built your dreams on could also suffer such a pandemic?<p>

As I walked through the exit of my dorm building, I saw Alison there with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She tilted her head with that knowing smile of hers. She seemed much more laid-back today, sporting a green football jersey, short pants and black vans. Her light brown hair spilled over her shoulders and her blue eyes seemed lighter in this lighting.

She walked towards me, pulling the suspenders for my jumper shorts until our bodies met. I closed my eyes, expecting her to kiss me, but - she didn't. I opened them back, seeing that she was reading my shirt with an amused look on her face.

"Hmm, if you're Thing 2, I'm _the one_ that you've been searching for." She winked and I couldn't help but flush.

She leaned in and kissed my nose, before venturing to my lips. She put her hands around my neck as I wrapped my arms around her waist. I poured out every emotion I had bottling up into that kiss. I wanted her to feel my need - feel that I had so many questions and that we really needed to talk about everything.

We both pulled away, after air became a problem. She grabbed my hand and led me to her vehicle.

"You're actually driving yourself today?!" I asked, after seeing her get in driver's seat.

"Yeah, I gave Gregorio the day off. Come in, I swear I'm not going to bite." She pushed the passenger side's door open and started patting the seat. "Unless you want me to." She teased.

I got in, throwing my bag in the backseat.

"Maybe I do." I answered in a sultry voice.

Alison grinned wickedly, as the SUV roared to life. Much of the ride consisted of us singing at the top of our lungs with every song on the radio. It wasn't hard knowing the lyrics since they literally play the same playlist every hour. It took 45 minutes to get to Alison's house. She lived on the outskirts of the town. I guess she still enjoyed living on the edge - just literally this time.

Her house - or better yet - her mansion was breath taking. It looked like something straight out of the movies, if not better. I stared in awe as we got out.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, taking my hand as we walked inside.

"Not really, I had a late breakfast before I left. I couldn't really sleep last night." I answered honestly.

"Do you usually have problems sleeping? or only last night?" she looked at me as if I were the most interesting thing in the world.

"I guess you can say that it's normal for me now. I've been having nightmares 2 weeks straight now." _I hope she doesn't-_

"What are they usually about?" she interrupted my thoughts, asking exactly what I didn't want her to.

My head immediately turned towards the ground.

"You..." I muttered, sotto voce.

**_TO BE CONTINUED._**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_I know, I know. I should've finished that scene, but the next chapter is going to make up for this cliffhanger. (; Let me know what chapter's your favorite and if you want a future one in Samara's POV. Thanks again for the reviews, guize!_


	7. World of Shadows

**A/N: **_Next Chapter will be in Samara's POV, so S/O to MitchFever & FallenxLeaves! (: We'll find out if Samara still has feelings for Emily and what she really thinks about "Madison". This chapter is going to be a split between Emily's and Alison's POV, because there's still a lot that I want you guys to know about her. Also, the liars will reunite in Chapter 9, followed by a HUGE changing point in the story. Thanks for all the reviews/favs and feel free to leave suggestions! _

**Alison's POV**

Emily's hesitation to meet my eyes made it clear that her dreams weren't the best - possibly nightmares. I know it's just dreams, but it made me a bit worried because they're obviously affecting her. Hopefully I can relieve whatever has been bothering her.

"Come on, let's go to the den and we can talk about it - if you want to, that is." I softly said, holding her free hand to lead her up the stairs. It was moments like this that I cursed myself for having the den on the 3rd floor.

"You can bring your bag up too. We'll probably sleep in there tonight anyway."

Emily shyly shook her head and followed my lead. She looked as if she was battling demons in her head. I wonder what was troubling her the most about the dreams.

"WOW!" Emily dropped her bag on the couch and admired the view in awe.

"Thanks, I designed it myself." I smirked.

"Did you design the tower too?" She asked, meeting my gaze.

"No, only my office. Liam teamed up with some interior designers for the rest of the tower."

Emily arched an eyebrow, "Who's Liam?"

"My very... _Flamboyant_ assistant." I answered honestly, sensing a bit of jealousy in her tone. "Now, come and sit next me, so we can talk about these nightmares." I said, patting the seat beside me as I sat down.

Emily walked over and gracefully sat down with her legs crossed; gravity really did love her. She seemed lost in thought, staring right at me, but through me as well.

"Em," I leaned towards her, kissing her forehead, "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

She broke out of whatever trance she was in. "I want to. It's just- I ... I don't know where to start."

"It doesn't matter where you start, baby. As long as I know what affects you the most about them, so that we can get to the bottom of this."

Once again, she ripped her eyes from mine and planted them on the ground. I immediately cupped her face, in a sort of knee-jerk reaction.

"Em, please..." I pleaded to her with my eyes. "Let me try and ease your mind."

"I- I've been dreaming a lot of different things." She finally started opening up, "at first it was only nightmares about you finding me somewhere, usually at night and-" tears started to fall as her voice started to crack. It hurt so much to see her cry, especially if I was the reason.

I wiped her tears away with my thumbs as she continued, trying my best to keep my composure.

"And- _**A**_ would come out of nowhere and- try to hurt you. I felt so helpless!" She croaked.

My arms fell from her face to caress her arms. It was taking everything within me to remain strong and not cry a long with her, but I don't know how much more I can take.

"The dreams soon changed to seeing you, but- not being able to-" she hesitated. I pulled her into a reassuring hug, motivating her to continue. "Not being able to touch you. No matter how hard I tried running to you, the space just grew." she said, against the crook of my neck.

"I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere." I said, trying to comfort her, as I rubbed up and down her spine.

She hugged me back, hanging on with dear life and finally started calming down again. We sat there holding on to each other for what felt like forever, but as soon as she let go, it felt like no time at all.

"Last night, I dreamt that you and Samara got married." She let out a sad laugh.

I tilted my head and smirked at the idea. "She is kind of hot." I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

"I know. I mean, we did-" Emily quickly covered her mouth with both her hands. Surprise coursing through her body.

"You both did... What?" I asked steely. Many different scenarios played through my mind, none of which I liked, and I couldn't hide all the emotions I was feeling right now. _Why is she taking so long to answer my question?!_

"We kind of, sort of ... dated - in high school." She crinkled her nose and smiled nervously, though it didn't meet her eyes.

If this was any other situation, I would adore the cute look on her face, but my mind was too clouded right now. I mean, Samara is her roommate! How am I supposed to feel about having Emily, the one person that I actually love, living within the same vicinity as her ex? A hot one, I must admit. Which made it even worst!

The blood in my veins turned to ice and I'm sure my face hardened a bit. Images of Emily pinning down Samara on her bed started flashing in my mind and it didn't help the situation one bit.

"Do you still have feelings for her?" I asked grimly, folding my hands in front of my chest.

Emily cringed at the tone.

"I might. I mean, if I we didn't meet again, I would probably consider dating her in the far future. But Ali, I love you. I've loved you since the first time I saw you. Maybe I've even loved you before I met you, in some other life. There's no one else in this world for me."

The sincerity in her voice, the vulnerability in her eyes and the swarm of butterflies in my stomach as she rested her forehead against mine made me feel so - _selfish. _Not because I turned this situation into something about me, when all I wanted to do was bring light to the world of shadows in her haunting nightmares, but because I wanted her, all of her, all for myself. I wanted to be the calm to her anxiety, the hope to her despair and the fulfillment to her dreams; I wanted to be all that she needed, even the things that she didn't know she did, until I gave it to her.

I brought our lips together, softly kissing her. Even though we've probably made up for all the kisses we missed out on over the years, every time felt like the first time; every time felt special.

"I love you too, Emily. So much." I whispered against her lips. "But, I'm not sure how I feel about you living with Samara." I sighed, kissing her forehead before pulling away to lay my back against the couch's arm. Emily's chocolate eyes followed my every movement.

"What would you like me to do?" She asked cautiously.

"Ohhh, Em. I would like you to do a lot of things." I winked. "But, it's up to you. I trust you, babe. Though, I would prefer if you moved in with me." I smiled deviously.

"You're such a perv." Emily rolled her eyes in amusement. "I'll think about it."

I decided I'd give her a grand tour of the house, which hopefully made her consider actually moving in with me. I don't expect her to accept the offer any time soon, though. She's become such a strong person since I _"died"_ and she wasn't quick to do anything that I wanted anymore, which was surprisingly super sexy to me.

* * *

><p>As nightfall approached, Emily saw every inch of my house and my pool house as well, except one particular room. I blind folded her and led her to the final room in the pool house; <em>The Stargazer<em>. The reason I named it that was because it was made entirely of glass, in a miniature dome design with white marble floors. One of the benefits of living on the outskirts of town was seeing how beautifully the stars actually sparkled against the night sky.

I made Liam come over, while I was doing my meetings earlier to decorate it for a surprise date I had in mind. He had two comfy futon laid out on the floor, with a bunch of pillows, a basket filled with food from _Osteria Francescana_, a jar shaped table stand in between the futons with wine glasses laid on top and a bucket filled with ice and wine bottles. All of this was complimented by star shaped Christmas lights hanging off the walls and scented candles.

I took off Emily's blindfold and drank in her reaction. She was frozen in shock, taking in the beautiful view.

"This is the absolute most beautiful thing that I've probably ever seen!" she gasped.

"I wish I could say the same..." I said matter-of-factly.

"What? Are you blind? This is amazing!" She turned around, staring incredulously at me.

I smiled warmly at her. "It is, but not as amazing as you look right now."

Even in the dim lighting, her face still glowed red as she blushed. I chuckled and walked slowly towards her.

"Em..." I got on one knee as I got in front of her. "I love-"

"Ali, what are you doing?" Her eyes grew wide in horror as she interrupted me.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I smiled, making an intentional pause before continuing, "I'm tying my laces, silly."

Relief quickly washed over her and I couldn't help but laugh until my stomach hurt.

I took her hand as I stood up. "Em, do you want to be my valentine?"

"Seriously?" she asked. "You did all of this, only to ask me to be your valentine?" she frowned.

"Well, you already are everything else to me." I gave her my best attempt at doing the puppy dog eyes. _Nice save,_ my subconscious snarked.

Her eyes began to glimmer like a million blurred galaxies with unshed tears as she melted, but she was smiling. "Of course!" she answered, happily.

I pecked her on the lips and grabbed a bottle of wine out.

"Well, let's celebrate!" I yelled joyously.

* * *

><p><strong>Emily's POV<strong>

Who knew Alison had a romantic side? This was the best date that I've ever been on. We spent most of the night feeding each other, drinking wine, stargazing and talking about the possibility of aliens out there. I mean, it was entirely possible, considering the number of galaxies and planets out there. It still amazes me how little we know about the vast world outside of us and even the planet that we live on.

"You know, this reminds me of the dream I had last night." I said, leaning my head on Alison's shoulder.

"The one about my hot wife and I?" She teased.

I got up and gave her a warning glare. "Ali..."

She pulled my head back against her chest and kissed my forehead. "I'm kidding, babe." She chuckled.

"I know" I sighed. "The dream was all futuristic and we lived in a dome on the moon. It was a lot like this." I said, gesturing to the design of the room.

"Definitely sounds like something I'd invest in" she paused. "But, I'd marry you instead."

"Well aren't you a hopeless romantic" I said jokingly.

Her phone started ringing and I glanced at the caller ID. It read _'Mrs. Rezendes'_. Ali frowned as she saw the name and grabbed her phone.

"I'll be right back, baby. I have to take this." She said, before getting up and leaving the room.

_I wonder who that was._ It probably had to be someone important, judging by her reaction. I sighed.

As I gazed around the room, I noticed that there was a bookshelf beside the door that I hadn't noticed before. It would be interesting to see what type of books Alison's reading now.

Walking over to it, I noticed that all the books were Encyclopedia sized with deep gold writings on the side, except one of them that laid in the middle. This book was green and it didn't have any writing on the side. Curiosity got the best of me, so I pulled it out and saw something I didn't expect.

The book had "E.F." carved in gold on the front. This made me a bit hesitant to open it, because it could mean anything, although two possibilities out shined the rest; _Ezra Fitz _or_ Emily Fields_.

Once again, curiosity got the best of me, so I opened the book. The first page said _"Everything I wish I'd said" _in Ali's handwriting

I turned to the second page, feeling a pang of guilt as I realized that this was some sort of diary. I felt like I was invading her privacy, but something caught my attention.

_"Dear Emily, _

_I thought I stopped missing you, but I was wrong. Everything seems to remind me of you lately, and I'm just so filled with words, I didn't know what to do with them. But, I saw this journal today and decided I'd buy it. Whenever I think about you now, I'll have some way of letting it all out. Even though you might never get a chance to read any of this. _

_Love, Ali."_

I skipped through the pages and all of them were basically letters addressed to me. Some were short, some were pages long and other pages had poetry. It reminded me of Ali's other diaries, but this one was only about me. I wasn't sure if I should be sad or happy right now, but the thought of her writing because of me made me feel ... special, in a way I haven't before. Maybe I really was her favorite.

My phone buzzed and I saw that I had a new text message. _Ugh, I hope A didn't resurrect from the dead, when everything's finally going right. _

_**'Hey, Em Bear. Hope you're having fun. There's something I wanna talk about tomorrow, so I'm just giving you a heads up. Xoxo, Sam.'**_

_Phew, it's Samara_. Which is still weird, considering that fact that she never really texts me.

I heard footsteps walking back to the room, so I quickly put the book back on the shelf and jumped on the futon. I'll try to sneak back in here to retrieve the book some other time.

"Sorry about that, my business partner had some stupid questions on a new venture we're considering." She said as she sat beside me.

"It's fine." I grinned at her.

"Well, you seem happy" She smiled back at me.

"Maybe I am." I cupped her face, turning this into a make out session as the stars watched in jealousy.

**A/N: **_Do you think that Samara still has feelings for Emily? Any theories about what the huge change in the story is going to be bout? Let me know your theories. _

_**Hint:**__ I've been throwing clues since Chapter 1. (: xx. _


	8. A Ravaged Soul

**A/N: **_Samara is very much like Rebekah Mikaelson (from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals) in this story, so keep that in mind as you're reading this. Sorry about any typos that might be in this chapter and previous chapters as well. I'm trying my best to correct them, but my brain has an autocorrect function which makes me overlook some of them. Haha, no, but seriously. Thanks for all the reviews/favs/follows. They motivate me to keep writing this story. Once again, feel free to leave suggestions, as I am always open to them and last but not least, enjoy! (:_

**Samara's POV**

Lost in a maze of thoughts, the truth inescapably found me. Self-revelations cornered me in a dead end, as I sank to the sorrow filled floors of orange-tinted roses planted by my own anguish. I wallowed away in self-pity, hoping this war of emotions would soon be over.

Love is indeed a battlefield, but what am I fighting for? All I really know is defeat, which would explain why I would rather forfeit than cross swords. My heart is Rome, a city built on ruins, who knows betrayal all too well, for it has had it's own fair share of Neros and Bruti.

_You were wrong,_ my mind tormented. I knew I was, but insecurities have a way of getting under your skin and controlling your actions. When I broke up with Emily after she gave Zoey her number, it wasn't really because I was mad, but because I was scared. Scared that she'd be just like everyone else that I dated in the past. I was _always_ the one who got burned in the end.

I always thought that maybe if I knew Emily a little longer before we started dating, we'd have a relationship that even the fairy tales could envy. I'd know that she wasn't the type of person to cheat, because she's as loyal as they come. I'd know that Quinn wanted me to herself, that's why she told me about Zoey and spoke so terribly of Emily. I'd know that the connection I felt with her the first time we met in The Grill was rare. Hell, I'd know that she might even be the one for me.

_Why didn't I tell her a long time ago that I still had feelings for her? Why did it have to take someone else walking in unannounced to give me the push that I needed to confess? Why didn't I reschedule and do that bloody interview myself? _

_Snap out of it_, my mind shrieked.

The sound of the television spilled in my ears, as reality came rushing back in. The show that I was watching broke into a commercial break and it automatically caught my attention, distracting me from my thoughts.

_"Relationship problems? Want to know if the person you're crushing on is really the one? Want to know if your mate is cheating on you? Call 1-800-sinkingships now and our psychics will be on the line waiting to guide you to true love!"_

"Hmm, this sounds promising." I chuckled to myself as I dialed the number.

An automated voice answered after 2 rings, "Welcome to _Sinking Ships_, a psychic guide to finding true love. **Press 1 **if you believe your other half is cheating on you, **Press 2 **if you are experiencing unrequited love,** Press 3 **if you just listened to one of Drake's album and you are considering calling your ex, **Press 4 **if your other half seems to lack interest in the bedroom, **Press 5 **if your other half seems to lack interest in YOU, **Press 6 **if you believe you're being lied to, **Press 7 **for all other problems or **Press 8 **to repeat your options."

"Seriously? This is ridiculous..." I muttered to myself as I pressed 7.

"Hold on as I connect you to one of our psychics. This may take a few minutes, due to high call volume."

_Why am I doing this again? _

I heard a click on the other line after a few seconds, followed by a raspy voice laced in an accent I couldn't identify. "Goodnight, my name is Madame Lolita and I will be your psychic counselor today!"

"Goodnight, Madame Lolita." I greeted back. "I saw the Sinking Ships commercial just now, so I decided I'd call. I'm new to this, so how does this work?"

"Well, we're having a special right now for first time callers. This first reading shall be free of charge." She paused, "I'm sensing that they're is someone in your life right now."

"I guess you can say that." I confirmed.

"But wait, there's someone else!" She declared.

I chuckled. _Maybe she's a real psychic._

"Why, yes. There's someone else but we're fighting for the same person's love."

"The spirits are telling me that your name starts with..." she paused once again, probably hovering her hands over some crystal ball in front of her. "S... is it Sam? Samantha? Sahara?"

_Wow, everything but my real name._ Close enough. I'll just play along.

"Sahara! Yes. Can you let me know how my future love life looks like?"

"Well, Sahara, the spirits are saying that your lover's name starts with E. Is his name Emmett?"

"He is a she, but your spirits are right."

"I knew I sensed something_ unique _about you." Her emphasis on the word gave me chills down my spine.. and not the good kind either. "In regards to your future relationship, there are strong forces at work against the one you truly love."

"What?" I yelped, "What do you mean?"

"Evil has found it's way to her soul's door step, but there's a way to prevent it!"

"What can I do?" I asked, now curious.

"Ok, get a pen and write this down."

I quickly took a pen and a notebook from my bag that laid beside me on the couch.

"Got it!"

"Ok, write this down." She started reading random numbers slowly, "05427458384233675."

"And... what should I do with this?"

"That's my bank account number. Transfer $100 and I will ward off the evil spirits from your lover."

I immediately hung up the phone, shaking my head in disbelief. What the hell, I knew it was too good to be true!

_What if she as being serious?_ My mind asked. She couldn't be. It had to be some kind of scam.

I decided I'd check my mail and go to bed afterwards. Emily didn't answer my text message, but maybe she went to bed early, considering the fact that she had an 8 AM class tomorrow.

_1 new message from Flux Couture_

Adrenaline rushed through my bloodstream. My meeting with Flux Couture, the biggest fashion agency in the United States, went excellent. They said my swimwear designs were a breath of fresh air and that they were interested in signing me as a designer for one of their many brands. One of their partners was so impressed, he even suggested letting me start my own brand under their management. I promised myself I wouldn't tell Emily about it, until we were done with the second meeting. That's when I'll know for sure what they'll decide on.

Curiosity got the best of me, so I opened the e-mail anxiously, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

_"You are cordially invited to Flux Couture's Pura Agua Winter line premier, with a plus invite of one, which will be held on February 18th at the Shockwave Center. The event starts at 7PM sharp. Looking forward to seeing you there."_

"OH-MY-GOD!" I screamed joyously. I've always dreamed of being at this event in the presence of all my favorite top fashion designers.

"Shit, who am I going to in-" I mentally face palmed myself. "Of course, Emily!"

A million and one ways of asking her played in my mind, as I fell asleep. I'm sure she'll agree, but maybe she'll be a little hesitant after I tell her how I feel. Or, maybe it works out in my favor. Who knows?

* * *

><p>Today felt like the start of a new beginning. My classes went by in a flash, or maybe that's because I kept thinking of Emily, instead of paying attention. Whatever it was, I appreciated it because I usually dreaded classes on Monday's.<p>

The only thing that bothered me was the image of Ms. Darkbloom that flashed in my mind every other minute. I mean, who does she think she is? She's only known Emily for 3 days and has managed to sweep her off her feet. What does she have that I don't? Jealousy coursed through my veins and if this were an anime, steam would be blowing out my nose and ears. Though all I really want is for Emily to be happy, but I want to be the reason that she is. Is that too much to ask for?

I sighed as I walked back to the dorm. I still had that article to write about the interview with that bloody Ms. Darkbloom. _This is a bunch of bollocks. _

I threw my bag on the coach and closed the door. As I turned back around, I was face-to-face with a beautiful brunette. We were so close, if I moved a little, our lips would probably touch. I staggered backwards in shock.

"EMILY! Where did you come from?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes and giggled, "My mom's womb?"

"Smart ass." I playfully pushed her away and went to get an apple.

"Looks like you're happy to see me." She commented sarcastically.

"I've missed you loads!" I replied using her sarcastic tone, though I meant every word I said. "How was your stay at the Darkbloom Estate?" I teased.

"It was ... Ah-mazingggg!" She answered using a bunch of hand gestures for emphasis. "You have to see it. It sort of looks like a luxurious resort."

"I can only imagine." I smiled, but the smile was towards her excitement and not her words, because God knows I'm the epiphany of the green-eyed monster right now. It's such a good thing that I mask my emotions so well.

I bit into my apple and walked back to the coach. It was a routine to write my articles here.

I grabbed my laptop and inserted my flashdrive, dumbfounded by what I just heard. _What the hell?_

When I inserted my flashdrive in, instead of the standard sound notifying me that my laptop detected it, my laptop spoke. Like, it actually used real words.

"Oh yeahhh" my macbook moaned.

I quickly pulled out the flashdrive, a bit embarrassed but it spoke again.

"Put it back in!" it groaned.

I stared in astonishment and Emily burst into a fit of laughter.

"I swear I'm not watching porn!" I protested, but she as still laughing.

"Sure you weren't..." she managed to say between giggles "Revenge is sooo sweet. You should've seen your face. I should have videoed it. Something like that would go viral in a day!"

"This is your doing?" I finally was able to laugh after I recovered from such shock.

"Maybe..." Emily smirked.

I pulled her down to the couch and started tickling her. She hates when I do that.

"Stoppp! I'm dying!" She yelled.

"Fine, but you're pranking the wrong person." I smirked deviously. "Are you hungry?"

"Why? Are you gonna put bugs in my food?" She arched an eyebrow at me.

"As tempting as that sounds, no." I chuckled, "I was thinking maybe we can go to _Dagnabbit That's Good Pizzeria _and talk."

"They do have really good pizza." She smiled but furrowed her eyebrows, "What did you want to talk about? I forgot about your text."

I grabbed the keys for my Red Nissan 370Z. "You'll find out when we get there."

"I call shotgun!" She yelled as she raced to the door.

"It's a 2-seater ... you don't have a choice!" I teased.

* * *

><p>We ordered 2 Medium Meat Lover's pizzas and took a seat in the booth at the far end.<p>

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Emily asked, being persistent as ever.

As I was about to answer, her phone started ringing and a huge smile plastered across her face.

_Great timing,_ my mind snarked.

"One second, I have to get this." Emily excused herself from the booth.

I knew it was Madison. Emily was so smitten and I couldn't figure out why. I was just about to tell her how I felt and all my courage just got crushed.

_Pull yourself together. You can do this._ My mind encouraged me as Emily came back.

"Sorry about that, Madison was just checking up on me." She apologized. "So, what's up?"

"It's ok." I hesitated, so I did what anyone else in my position would do. "Um, I got invited to Faux Couture's Winter-Line Premier and ... I was wondering, do you want to be my date." I asked, half-smiling.

"As in, _THE_ annual winter-line premier at the Shockwave Center?" she asked in utter shock, opening her eyes as big as they can get.

"Yes, I got an invite today along with a plus one." I boasted. "So, is that a yes?"

"Of course, I'm so happy for you!" She pulled me into a hug over the table, "This is huge!"

Gaining my confidence back, I grinned, "Thanks, and what better way to enjoy it than with you?"

She released me from the hug, but stared at me, searching my face.

_Okay, maybe I blew my cover. But, I have to take my chances. It's now or never._

I held her hands in mine and stared deep into those chocolate eyes of hers. "Em, what I really wanted to tell you is... I still have feelings for you - I'm still very much in love with you."

Chills creeped up my spine as I felt an ominous presence hovering over me.

I looked up to see Madison glaring furiously at me with her fists clenched.

_Oh shit._

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _CLIFFHANGER!_ _How do you guys feel about the supernatural and rituals? Yay? Nay? Let me know. Also, how do you feel about other chapters from Samara's POV? She's such a fun character to write, so I'd love to do more, but it's all up to you. Next chapter, the liars unite, so be on the look out for that._


	9. The Whispering Women

**A/N: **_Hey, Guize! Wow, I really wasn't expecting that reaction from last chapter. It's the most reviews I've gotten on one so far. Thanks for ALL the reviews/favs/follows, like I always say, it really means a lot. I promise the story will only get better, as we are approaching the sudden change in plot, so I hope you enjoy this. To BSwifty1997, yes, Samara will eventually find out that Ali is Madison, but she's not going to find out about it from Ali nor Emily. How will she react when she finds out? Well, you'll just have to see in the upcoming chapters. (; Without further ado, I introduce to you... _

**Alison's POV**

_This bitch! Did she really confess her love for Emily within my presence? Ugh._ I thought to myself, as the blood within my veins froze with anger.

_Get it together, Alison. You're way too mature to turn this into a confrontation, _my subconscious reminded me.

I closed my eyes for a brief second, calming myself down. I felt my hands unfold from a fist, which was bit of a surprise, because I hadn't noticed that they were clenched.

_Jeez, I really need to consider signing up for some anger management classes, if this continues._

_Yeah, before you go apeshit on someone, _my subconscious retorted mockingly.

I quickly opened my eyes, morphing my contorted expression into a devilish smirk as I tilted my head in Samara's direction. She looked as if all the blood in her head retreated to her cheeks, as she stared at me sheepishly in horror. If the situation was different, I'd feel a pang of guilt as her expression reminded me of all my crestfallen victims at Rosewood High, but I had the upper-hand and I was _definitely _going to use it. I guess I still have a bit of the Queen Bee within me.

"Hey, _baby_!" I emphasized the last word, as I took the seat beside Emily and kissed her on the cheek, "And hey to you, Bombshell." I said as I turned my attention back to the bewitching blonde who now sat facing me.

_This is going to be fun._

"Hey, that was fast!" Emily said happily with a hint of confusion, "I literally just got off the phone with you 15 minutes ago and you're here already."

Samara tore her eyes from me to Emily as she spoke, staring at her perplexingly. I guess Emily forgot to mention that I was coming.

"I was in the area." I answered, as I turned back to Emily smiling warmly..

"Hey, Madison." Samara greeted with a sad attempt of a smile, "It's nice to see you again."

I reached for Emily's hand, which still laid on the table after Samara quickly let go, and held it.

"Likewise," I winked at her with a huge grin. At least I didn't have to fake mine. "So, do you guys have any plans today? I was thinking maybe we could go and do something fun."

"Oh, sorry, I can't make it," Samara quickly replied, "I need to go back after this and complete that article about the interview."

"That's too bad. I was hoping that we could get to know each other better" I lied, "What about you, babe?"

"I believe that I'm free," Emily said shyly.

I pecked her on the nose, as a waiter brought 2 pizzas and sodas. Both girls thanked him as he put the order on the table, before returning to the kitchen.

"I forgot to ask if you wanted to order anything," Emily apologized, "But I don't mind sharing."

I shot a glance at Samara who rolled her eyes at the offer, obviously irritated.

_Hmm, maybe I can use this to my advantage,_ I thought to myself as my alter-ego nodded in agreement.

"Are you sure?" I asked, hoping that she'd insist on it, "I don't mind ordering something for myself."

"I'm positive," Emily gave a reassuring smile, while getting a slice of her pizza, "now open wide!"

"Mmm, aggressive much?" I teased in a sultry-laced voice as I followed her orders, which made a crimson blush play on her face.

"Hush!" Emily giggled.

We took turns feeding each other until the pizza was done. I'm sure Samara felt like a third-wheel as she witnessed our cheesy exchanges. I knew it was probably like slow torture to her, because she didn't get a chance to hear what Emily thought of her confession, and here we are acting like honeymooners in front of her.

Samara sat mostly in silence trying to finish her pizza, but she seemed to have lost her appetite half way, so she was playing with her food now. Emily, being the sweet person that she is, tried to keep up the small talk with her, which seemed to lighten up the tension. Remorse rocked through my body, protesting until I finally gave in to it; I couldn't fight the guiltiness anymore, which made me realize that I'm not as cold as I used to be. Was that a good or bad thing? I wasn't sure. Maybe it was a bit of both, but it brought a pleasurable feeling knowing that I've grown a lot over the years.

I toned down the PDA, knowing that I was wrong for it. I shouldn't have to mark my territory because we aren't animals.

_Unless you're talking about in the bedroom_, my subconscious sneered.

Okay, maybe I am a perv, but that's not the problem right now. I trust Emily, don't I? I shouldn't have to be acting this way because someone else is interested in _my mermaid_. I mean, who wouldn't be? She's as beautiful as she is on the outside as on the inside. Even a blind person could see that, but don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean I won't fight for her if I have to.

"Anyway, I'm going to head back to the dorm now," Samara began excusing herself from the booth, "it was nice seeing you again, Madison."

I got up to give her a hug, which she hesitated to return, but she eventually hugged me back. I let it linger a little longer than I should, as I was still feeling bad about my actions.

"It was nice seeing you too, Bombshell." I pulled away, giving her a small smile, "I hope we can eventually get to know each other better."

"Is that my new nickname?" she asked, crinkling her nose.

"I was thinking about calling you the Blonde Bombshell, but that's a little too long." I smirked, "The name does suit you well though." I continued, while winking at her.

"Okay, enough with the flirting, you lovebirds." Emily said jokingly while rolling her eyes as she took her turn to bid adieu to Samara.

"We'll talk later, Sam..." Emily said, while giving her a brief hug.

Emily and I left shortly after Samara. I decided that we'd drive back to my house for some alone time, before I had to return her back to campus and go back to my office. The drive felt shorter than the last time, since Gregorio was driving this time, which gave me more time to enjoy Emily's presence.

"Ali, when you walked in, did you hear what Samara was talking about?" Emily asked as we entered the den.

"I guess I heard the last bits of it" I answered honestly, avoiding eye contact while I plopped on the coach.

Emily sat beside me, holding my chin between her index and thumb finger before softly turning my head to face her. "Was that the reason your were acting like that?"

"Acting like what?" I asked, prolonging the arrival of a discussion which I wish I could just shrug off.

"Loving-" she muttered, "in public."

I sighed, "Em- I-I ... just wanted to show everyone how much I love you."

"You mean, you wanted to show _Samara_ how much you love me." Emily rolled her eyes, clearly irritated, "I don't mind you showing a public display of affection, but I don't want you to take advantage of my love just because you're jealous!"

"How would you feel if someone was telling me how much they were in love with me, right in front of your face?!" I shrieked defensively, not thinking about the words that came out of my mouth.

Emily rose from the coach flailing her arms in the air, as her eyes lit up with anger which threatened to spew out.

"I know exactly how it feels, in case you forgot!" She snapped back, "I went through that exact situation _over and over and over again _when you were toying with my feelings, just because you weren't sure of yours!"

Tears started forming in my eyes, as I processed what she just said. _How could I be so insensitive? _Those were the memories I regretted the most, and to hear it being vocalized made it hurt much more than when my mind would torture me by letting me relive those moments. If this made me feel this way, I don't even want to imagine how it made her feel, the person who actually experienced it; the person who didn't deserve such treatment. _Why do we always hurt the ones we love the most? The ones who shouldn't be hurt at all?..._

Silence swept in since I was rendered speechless. Emily glared at me, waiting for something to come out, but I didn't know what to say or what to do. I stared on the ground, hoping that it would either let the answer surface or it would open up and swallow me whole, but neither happened.

"You know what?" Emily asked rhetorically while grabbing her bag, "I'm going back to my dorm since you obviously don't want to talk this out!"

It took everything within my body to run towards her and grab her by the wrist before she could exit the room, but I wasn't going lose her ... not again.

"Do you want to know the truth?" I rebutted, "I wasn't sure how to word it but since you're so eager to leave, you should know that I've _always_ been in love with you. I treated you so horribly because every time I saw you, I felt ... I felt things I didn't even know was possible! I thought that if I did that, it would somehow lessen the emotion, but you could do just as little as look at me and I feel my power draining away as I turned to putty in your hands. And I know that isn't a fair justification, but at the time, it felt like it was."

Words came rushing out in waves of unsaid truths. I wasn't going to think about what to say or try to filter it either. I was going to give her my raw emotions like my life depended on it.

"I- I was scared, Emily. I was scared because I wasn't used to wanting someone. In fact, I wasn't used to feeling like I _needed _someone or something in my life. I'm not comfortable being attached to anyone or anything, but up to this very moment, it feels like we're ... intertwined some how. Like, no matter what ride life takes us on, it'll always bring us back together and I don't want to run from that anymore."

I stepped closer, letting go of her wrist and wrapping my arms around her waist instead. Her gaze was filled with a deep rooted emotion that I couldn't quite identify as tears slowly trickled down her cheeks.

"You don't know how much I've cursed myself every day for what I did, but I'm willing to spend the rest of my life making it up to you," I paused for a brief second as my voice started cracking, "I want... _us... you... this_!"

Emily stared at me in bewilderment, just as speechless as she made me a few minutes ago. I made sure I didn't lose eye contact even for a second with her, hoping that she'd see that I meant every word that I said.

She cupped my face, leaning her forehead against mine while closing her eyes. I followed her action, closing mine as well, remembering the way I fell in love with her; _body, soul and all_. We stayed like this, holding each other for what felt like an eternity, but I couldn't wait any longer. I crashed my lips against hers which caught her off guard, but she immediately returned it with just as much passion. It felt like every winter I spent lonely thawed into the summer warmth of our heated exchange. We fell into the deeply-rooted allure of the moment like the leaves in autumn, as our intimacy bloomed into spring.

* * *

><p>It was Friday all over again. The days flew by since I had a bunch of meetings with small business owners who were trying to market their product to me. Most of them were good, but Mrs. Rezendes, my business partner, and I couldn't quiet agree on which would be the best investment. I was interested in Robotics and she was interested in Nanotechnology. If someone would propose a piece of technology that incorporated both, we wouldn't have this issue right now, but life isn't that easy.<p>

"Ms. Darkbloom!" Liam said in a sing-song tone, as he walked with an exaggerated sway to his hips in my office.

"Liam," I greeted him with a smile, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

His eyes searched around the office to make sure no one else was around, before he dropped his professional persona. Liam has been my bestfriend since I moved to this city, so this was quiet normal for us.

"How did the date go?" he whispered while leaning on my desk, "I tried my best to get the stargazer the way you wanted it."

"It was beautiful," I replied honestly, "Emily loved it!"

"Thank you, honey. I did it all by myself." Liam laid one of his hands on his chest as he wiggled his torso in glee, "Well, as you must know, today is Valentine's Day, so what are you going to do? And why haven't I officially met your mistress, Mademoiselle?!"

"Let's just say I have something romantic planned for lunch," I said as I gave him my signature smirk, "And, you'll meet her soon enough, don't worry, Liam."

"Now wait a minute," he slammed both hands on my desk for a dramatic effect, "have you DTR-ed yet?"

"Someone's been watching a little too much _Awkward_," I teased.

"Please, child. I live- breathe- eat _Awkward_." Liam rolled his eyes, "But don't turn this around on me. Have you?"

"Maybe..."

"Don't play with my feelings. You know I've shipped you guys so hard, since you first told me about her." He protested.

"Fine, today makes it a week since we became official." I said with a face-splitting grin. Just the thought of Emily being mine, _and only mine_, made me unrealistically happy.

"And why did you keep this away from me, young lady?!" Liam faked a hurt expression.

Before I could answer him, Brittany walked in and interrupted our conversation. Liam quickly switched back on his professional demeanor.

"Ms. Darkbloom, your 12 o'clock called to reschedule, so you're schedule is free." She notified me.

"Thanks, Brittany." I smiled at her as she returned to her desk.

"Where the hell did she come from?" Liam scoffed.

"Hell, just like where I got the rest of you guys from," I joked as I got up and grabbed my bag.

"Where are you going?"

"To see my woman," I answered as I propped my hands on my hips, "I'll see you on Monday, lovely!"

"Have fun. Text me if you need condoms!" Liam giggled.

I pretended I didn't hear him as I walked out of the office. When I got outside, Gregorio was already waiting for me. The drive to Emily's campus was short, since it was in close proximity.

_If only it wasn't so far away from my house. _

When we arrived, Emily ran to the vehicle and greeted Gregorio happier than usual, which scored a smile on his face. That was a huge accomplishment, since Gregorio isn't much a smiler.

"So, where are we going, babe?" Emily asked after she gave me a chaste kiss.

"You'll have to wait and see." I said playfully, though Emily frowned like a child who got sent to time-out. She's so cute, I couldn't help but smile even bigger at the sight.

The location we were heading was downtown, so Gregorio had to park a block away since there weren't any parking slots available nearby. I held Emily's hand and led her to the Boat Club I rented out for lunch today. We were going to have a picnic on the lake.

"Good afternoon, welcome to the Lakeside Boat Club!" A red hair woman greeted as we walked in. "My name is Rebekah and I'll be your hostess today. You must be Ms. Darkbloom."

"Hi, Rebekah. Yes, I'm Ms. Darkbloom and this is Ms. Fields," I gestured towards Emily.

"It's nice to meet you both," she shook our hands. "Follow me and we can get your wonderful afternoon started."

She led us to the dock where a wide variety of boats floated. I chartered the Duffy 16 Cat Electric Pontoon boat, since it was easy to maneuver and had small table for the picnic. Rebekah gave me the keys and watched as we boarded.

"Do you know how to drive this?" Emily asked, a bit worried.

"Pishposh, Em. I know how to fly planes." I boasted as I started the motors, "This is nothing."

I made sure the basket of food and beverages was on the table, before I drove off to the middle of the lake. Emily made sure she kept a life jacket nearby, just in case I didn't know what I was doing. She got so nervous, she forgot that she was a swimmer.

When we got to the middle, I let down the anchor and went to sit down across from Emily.

"See, it wasn't that bad, right?" I teased.

She crinkled her nose as she smiled at me, "You were right."

"Aren't I always?" I smirked.

"Shut up, Ali." She playfully hit my arm. "The view here is sooo beautiful!"

"The view here is even more beautiful," I said as I stared at her with my head propped on my hand.

Emily turned her attention back to me and her cheeks instantly flushed as she realized that I was referring to her.

"When did you become so cheesy?" she teased as her lips curled revealing that cute dimple.

"I'm not sure... it's either when I realized that it was ok to feel extraordinary about someone, or when I realized how lucky I was to have someone that loves me as much as you do."

"I can get used to this," her smile grew wider.

We spent the rest of the afternoon drinking wine and eating italian food. This was slowly becoming a norm between us, which I fully embraced. I don't know if it was the wine, but Emily seemed a lot more relaxed and happier than she usually is. We enjoyed each other presence, but I made sure I didn't drink too much since the day was still young.

"Babe, when are we going to tell the other girls about us? I hate keeping things away from them." Emily asked as we started walking out the boat club.

I sighed, "I guess you can tell them now. I mean, I don't know how they'll take it... especially Spencer, but if you feel like we should, then I'm all for it."

"I have an idea," she stopped in her tracks, which got my attention, "Can we have them over tomorrow? I won't tell them about you yet. It can be a surprise!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea? They haven't heard a word from me in 2 years and I just happen to pop out of the shadows as some successful entreprenuer?" I questioned her.

"That's how I found out about you," she pouted, "please? I just want to see them again and I'm sure they'll be happy that you're not on the run anymore."

"Fine... tell them you're staying at a distant Aunt's house or something." I gave in. _How can I resist that face?_

Emily gave me a quick kiss and squealed in excitement. She pulled out her phone and sent the girls a group message before we started walking again. Somehow, the walk seemed a little bit longer than it originally did and I kept getting this eerie feeling like I was being watched. When we turned down the street where Gregorio was parked, I saw a group of old women in black robes across the other side. Echoes of muffled whispers filled the air around us. Even though I couldn't make out exactly what they were talking about, certain words seemed to stand out. i.e. _Dead. Girls. Walking._

Emily was probably too busy texting to notice and I grew paranoid. I picked up my pace, glancing over to them every now and then, which made me completely oblivious to the person in front of us, until we bumped into him. The guy fell to the ground and startled both Emily and I.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Emily was the first to apologize, of course, "I didn't see you there!"

She extended her arm to help him up. He shook his head a bit dazed, but when he got a full glance of Emily, he smiled wickedly at her. I crossed my arms over my chest as soon as I noticed.

"It's okay. Do you have a band-aid?" He got up, brushing himself off. "I seemed to have... scraped my knee, falling for you."

Okay, what's up with guys hitting on _MY girl _using stupid pickup lines? I mean, seriously?

"Say that again - and you'll need one for your head too." I smirked at him as I grabbed Emily's hand and walked to the vehicle.

* * *

><p>Emily slept over last night to help me prepare for the arrival of the girls. I was curious to see what their reactions would be, when they saw me again.<p>

Hanna and Aria were the first to arrive, since their campus was closer than Spencer's. I hid in the den until all of them were here. Emily texted me shortly after to let me know that Spencer had finally arrived. I sneaked down the stairs, watching them catch up on each other's lives.

"Jeez, Aria! You have like... 50 shades of dark circles under your eyes," Emily chuckled.

"Yeah, she's starting to look like Radley Spencer!" Hanna added.

Spencer threw a pillow at Hanna as all of them burst in laughter.

I decided this would be a good time to walk in the living room, so I did. Everyone, except Emily, fell silent and stared in utter disbelief.

"ALISON?" Spencer said rhetorically.

"Wow, I love your hair, girl!" Hanna interrupted as I tried speaking.

Aria just sat there, looking like she saw a ghost.

"Yeah... it's me." I announced.

Emily got up and stood beside me holding my hand. "Guys, we... I - thought it would be a good time to tell you about this. That's why I invited all of you for the weekend. This is Alison's house, not my long lost aunt."

"THIS is YOUR house?" Spencer asked in bewilderment.

"Damn, looks like I need to fake my death and runaway too," Hanna said, earning a death glare from everyone, "Jeez, sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"Look, I know this is a lot to take in, but I wanted you guys to know that I'm ok, and Emily thought that this would be a good time." I said, matter-of-factly.

"Since when do you listen to Emily?" Spencer questioned and moved her attention to Emily, "And how long have you known, Em?"

"I found out about 2 weeks ago, totally accidentally." Emily answered honestly, "And... we might have started dating officially a week ago."

"Wow, you guys don't waste time," Hanna joked, "Have you done it yet?" She asked suggestively.

"Hanna!" Spencer rebutted.

This looked like it was going to be a very interesting weekend, but Aria seemed a little quieter than usual. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe she's changed from the outspoken person I know, to a person of few words since I last saw her.

"Maybe we have, maybe we haven't," I smirked. "Aria, are you usually this quiet?"

The girls turned their attention to the petite brunette that sat curled up on the coach, obviously deep in thought.

"What?" She asked, as she noticed that all eyes were on her.

"I was just asking if you're usually this quiet..." I repeated.

"There's... something you guys need to know." Aria sighed, running her hand through her hair.

We all moved to surround her as she pulled out her phone. She was scrolling through her messages before she found the one that she was looking for. She turned the screen towards us so that we could read it.

_**"You can cheat on your test, but you can't cheat death -A"**_

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><p><strong>AN:** _Sorry about the late upload. There's a lot that I wanted to get done in this chapter, so the story can stay on path, which led to this being so long. What do you think is going to happen next? Any suspicions on who Big A is? I'm big on foreshadowing, so keep an eye out for all the hints. Also, feel free to leave suggestions. Thanks again for the reviews and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. (:_


	10. The InterrogAtion

**A/N: **_FallenxLeaves, you are the sweetest! Thanks for always reviewing. __Quick question to everyone, should I start my chapters with a super short summary of the past chapter, just so that you guys don't get lost? Yay? Nay? Let me know. Again, thanks for all the favs/follows/reviews. Sorry about the late upload, I'm having severe writer's block but that's not going to stop me. Enjoy! (:_

**Emily's POV**

"I am not letting that _bitch_ have his/her way with you guys," Ali got up from the crouching position she was in after reading the message, "this sick game has been going on for far too long. It's time to turn the hunter into the hunted and I know just how."

Spencer _quirked_ an eyebrow at her, folding her arms across her chest, "and how does the fabulous Alison DiLaurentis plan on doing that?"

"Yeah, I mean, we've been trying to figure out who -A is for years and we just keep hitting dead ends," Hanna added, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Oh, honey," Alison tilted her head with that all knowing smirk of hers, "follow me and see for yourself."

The girls and I exchanged a look of confusion as we all got up to follow the ex-blonde haired Queen Bee, _Ms. Darkbloom_. What the hell did she have deviously planned in that beautiful head of hers?

Ali paused to let us catch up with her long strides and when we did, she interlocked my hand in hers before leading us towards the pool area. I blushed at the sweet gesture, trying not to make eye contact with the other girls, because I knew they'd tease me - especially Hanna.

I've been here before, when Ali gave me a tour of the place, but I never got the time to admire the extensive details of her backyard. The patio overlooked the beach-designed lawn, complimented by outdoor furniture in red, orange, brown and grey colors. Palm trees shared their spotlight with large Tiki Thatched Umbrellas and Tents that housed a small bar, hammocks and reclining futons. The pool took up about 75% of the area with a walkway that led to a submerged seating area, totally surrounded by the vast body of water. If that wasn't enough, a lake immediate started, where the pool ended; reminiscent of an infinity pool. I'm surprised Ali didn't build a dock and had a boat waiting there.

"Guys, I'm seriously considering faking my death and running away," Hanna looked around, obviously marveled at the scene, "I mean, your house is way too bad ass, Ali!"

"Thanks-" Ali crinkled her nose, "I think."

Spencer and Aria shook their head at Hanna's statement.

Ali walked beside the pool and stopped to look at us, "we're here!"

"What are we going to do? Lead -A here and hope to drown them in this?" Spencer asked, not trying to hide her irritation.

"Yeah, Einstein," Ali boomeranged, rolling her eyes, "I'll send that bitch a cute little invite to a pool party from hell with fricking - Teletubbies and smiley faces on the card."

Hanna, Aria and I couldn't hold in our laughter, but Spencer glared murderously at Ali. _Jeez, if looks could kill..._

"Babe, what are we actually doing here?" I gently tugged Ali's hand that held mine.

Her ice cold expression melted away as her blue eyes met mine, "you'll see..."

She retrieved her hand, stooping down to the floor, while taking off her gold chain and putting the pendant against a weird symbol engraved in bricked ground. The sudden sound of metal rubbing against each other startled us, but Ali didn't even flinch. An entrance spiraled open, revealing a marble staircase that seemed to lead into an abyss - or another dimension or some shit. This place seemed to have as much layers as it's alluring owner.

"Ladies first," Ali gestured towards the stairs.

Spencer was the first to descend, obviously too eager to find out what Ali had down there. Hanna and Aria ensued, but I waited behind.

"What? Are you afraid of the dark?" Ali teased as she grabbed her chain off the brick.

"No, I'm just waiting for you," I winked.

"Guys, stop eye sexing each other and come down here!" Hanna commanded.

"Come on," Ali found my hands, dragging me down the stars.

When we walked down the final flight of stairs, there was nothing magnificent about the place. It was... empty.

"Ali - seriously, what the hell are we doing in your dungeon of torture, or whatever the hell this is?" Spencer scoffed.

Instead of answering her, she simply clapped her hands two times and the entrance closed. The sound of metal shrieking filled the air again, only this time, a tile rose out of the ground with a holographic touch pad on the top. Ali put her left hand for it to scan and a beep of approval commenced shortly afterwards. The wall beside the marble staircase lifted, revealing a glass that looked straight out to the pool, as if it were a human aquarium. Bright lights flickered on and the room transformed into a super high tech spy lab. Blank walls turned into shelves of equipment I've never seen before, huge flat-screen monitors and 3 doors that led to only God knows.

Ali grinned at the view and the awe plastered across our faces.

"You like?" She asked, directing the question mostly to Spencer.

"Wow, I - I" Spencer stumbled on her words, "how the hell did you afford all of this? I haven't even seen half of the things in this room before. They look like you got them from the fricking future!"

"Does the name _Darkbloom Enterprises_ ring a bell to you?"

"THAT'S _YOU_?" Her jaw threatened to fall off it's hinge, "I always thought you stole the name from the owner of that place!"

"Please-," Ali chuckled, "I actually stole the name from _Lolita_, but I'm sure I'd be a much more interesting character than anyone in that book."

"I'm sure you would," Spencer murmured in a sarcastic note.

"Anyway," I interrupted before Ali had to opportunity to respond, "how is this supposed to help us? We don't even know how any of these things work."

"That's why I'm here, silly," Ali smiled warmly, giving me an Eskimo kiss, "I'll show you guys how to use everything. I'm sure we'll make a much better team than those P.I.'s I hired."

"Wait a minute. You hired P.I.'s and still couldn't get any info on -A?" Aria frowned.

"Yeah," Ali jeered, "but those jerks didn't know their head from their ass. At least we know what to look for. We also have the resources to analyze anything that we find and - we have a direct descendant of Sherlock Holmes himself on our side."

"Me?" Spencer pointed her index finger to herself.

"No shit, Sherlock," Hanna responded and all of us laughed, excluding Spencer of course.

"Take it easy, Spence," Aria rubbed her shoulders to let her relax, "it's just a joke."

"I know," She sighed.

"Shall I give a tour?" Ali offered.

We all nodded and followed Ali around the large room. Well, I really didn't have an option since she refused to let go of my hand. I can totally get used to the new and improved Ali, or should I say, _Madison Darkbloom_. We stopped in front of the first door on the left.

"This is the bathroom," She opened the door, revealing a grey, white and black tiled lavatory that even had a huge painting of Marilyn Monroe above the Jacuzzi tub.

"_Sooo gay_," Hanna mumbled really low, scoring an elbow in the stomach from Aria. "_Ouch!_"

Ali either didn't hear, or didn't care to respond. She simply maneuvered over to the next door.

"Now this," she opened the door and put on the light which made a portion of the wall hoist to the ceiling, revealing a huge glass window, "is the interrogation room, where all the fun happens."

Spencer and Hanna shared a devious smile, probably using telepathy to communicate with each other.

"Sorry, Emily," Spencer said, before tearing Ali and I apart and pushing her into the interrogation room. Hanna locked the door behind her, leaving Aria and I to watch whatever they were going to do through the window.

"Spence, give me that wonderful flashlight of yours and take off the lights," Hanna requested and Spencer immediately followed her orders.

_Leave it up to Spencer to carry around that super bright flashlight with her._

Hanna flashed the light on Ali, like it was some sort of spotlight. "Where were you 12 AM this morning?"

Ali crossed her hands in front of her chest, leaning back in her chair with an amused look on that beautiful face of hers, but she refused to answer the question. This was going to be fun to watch.

"Okay, we can do it the easy way or the hard way," Hanna handed the flashlight over to Spencer and rummaged through her bag for something.

"Wow, Han. Who died and made you Chief Interrogator?" Ali teased.

Hanna found whatever it is she was looking for and pulled it out to show Ali. When I saw what it was, I started having a mini panic attack inside.

_How the hell did she find that? I had that in my purse!_

"What are you doing with fuzzy pink handcuffs?" Ali arched an eyebrow at her, "Hmm, kinky..."

"Actually-" Hanna twirled the cuffs around her finger, "I found these in Emily's bag earlier."

All eyes were on me now and I felt a blush creeping on my cheeks. _Why did I bring those with me? _I mentally face palmed myself. _Because you were planning on getting lucky_, my subconscious mockingly retorted.

"Enough about that," Spencer interrupted and I mentally thanked her, "what do you know about -A?"

Ali winked at me, before turning her attention to the brunette, "what do you want to know?"

"Don't let me have to use these handcuffs," Hanna threatened teasingly, "tell us everything!"

"Well, as I explained before," Ali paused for a dramatic effect, "I hired two morons to track -A down, but all I got out of them was a bank account number that belonged to a private organization known as Athena."

"That's it?" Spencer asked, obviously not buying what Ali was selling.

"I have the official report in my office, if you don't believe me." Ali said matter-of-factly, "I told Em this before, they obviously have people of power working for them, because there's little to no info on them. Someone's cleaning up their dirty work _really_ well."

"So how the hell do you plan on helping us?" Spencer asked, anger starting to simmer beneath her skin.

"I'm surprised you haven't thought of this yet, but I was thinking we'd start by getting all of you new phones. I have strong reason to believe that -A has hacked into all of your GPS navigation apps and tracked every move you've made so far. So, just to prove my theory, when was the last time you guys changed your phones, since you started getting messages?"

Wow, she was right. Now that I think of it, the only person that changed their phone was Aria and she barely gets bothered by -A. Everyone remained quiet, so Ali continued to make her point.

"Exactly! That's why I brought you guys in here. This entire room has been built to block out any phone signal from entering." she smirked, "I have some prototype iPhones for next year's release back in the house that you guys can use. They don't allow blocked messages, nor do they allow remote access and if anyone even tries to track it, it'll send you a notification along with the location of the user. Since the model hasn't been released yet, I'm sure -A would have a brain aneurysm before figuring how to bypass the security system."

"Although I'm all for the bad ass gadgets, if you had all these things, why didn't you come back and help us?" Hanna asked.

That was a good point, even though she explained this to me already, I'm sure this is something the other girls needed to hear for themselves before they gave their trust to Ali again.

"I was busy building up this company, guys. I tried my best to help you whenever I could, though. I always came back to help, even when it was too dangerous and you all know that." Ali looked around at each one of us, running her hand through her light brown hair, "I'm finally in the position where I don't have to be on the run any more and since -A doesn't know that, it'll give us the upper hand."

"She's right," Spencer nodded, "but we'll have to stay two steps a head, so we need to think of a plan."

_Finally. I thought they'd never find any common ground._

Aria nudged against my arm, probably bored of the interrogation, "So, how's Samara doing?"

Ugh, I was trying to avoid thinking of her right now. I felt horrible about all that happened yesterday. I didn't even get to acknowledge her feelings or give her any closure. She didn't even bother to call or text me either, which wasn't weird considering the fact that she's never really texted or called me before, but I thought she'd at least want to talk about it. I mean, I do like her, but I _love_ Ali. Though I doubt she'd be able to understand that, unless I'd reveal Ali's true identity to her.

If Ali didn't show up, or at least took a little longer, I don't know what would've happened. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? I don't know. But, I'm hoping that choosing Ali was the best decision, since I'd do it over and over again if I had to. I guess that's the problem with first loves; they take a part of you that you'll probably spend most of your life trying to find back in everything that you do, everything that you see and everyone that you meet. Whether that's a curse or blessing is entirely up to destiny, because it'll either let you underestimate or overestimate your perception of love - there's no in between. And for me, even though Ali destroyed me in the past, she's the only one that I wanted to put the pieces back together; she's the only one I wanted to save me, even though she put me in that very position.

"Earth to Emily!" Aria snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, Samara..." I tired to think of what I could say without having to elaborate, "She's doing great, actually. She's working on getting an agency to sign her as one of their fashion designers."

"You know, I always saw her becoming famous and having her own line," Aria smiled, "her designs are super awesome and totally innovative."

Aria and I kept up the small talk, while Hanna, Spencer and Ali went Inspector Gadget and formulated some crazy plan on catching the infamous -A. They even made a timeline beginning with the first message Ali ever got, up to the message Aria got earlier trying to find some kind of pattern, since Hanna insisted that every villain from the books she read had a unique pattern to them.

* * *

><p>I felt someone rocking me back and forth, trying to wake me up. I was totally knocked out after having a long day in Ali's secret spy laboratory, or whatever she called it.<p>

"Babe?" I whispered in a sleepy voice.

"Everyone's sleeping now," she kissed my forehead, "want to go for a swim?"

_What are you waiting for? Go for it! _My subconscious encouraged.

"Sure, but I didn't bring a swim suit." I said, as I got up.

Even though it was dark, I still managed to see Ali smirk, "you won't need it for what we're going to do." She winked, causing some kind of electricity to run down my spine. _Woah._

She grabbed my hand and we quietly sneaked out to the back, trying not to wake anyone up. The backyard looked even more beautiful at night with the stars reflecting on the lake and the pool, along with the tiki torches that remained lit even with the cool wind blowing.

Ali began taking off her t-shirt and shorts. I didn't even realized I was staring until she turned around and caught me.

"And I thought I was the pervy one in the relationship," She teased, jumping into the pool and disappearing under the water. When she surfaced, she had her bra in hand, waving it like some type of flag, "Come on, Em. I won't bite ... _unless you want me to_."

Without even thinking about it, I took off my PJs and dived in, swimming in front of her before emerging. She put her hands on either side of my face while I pushed her against the edge of the pool. Our lips met as our bodies came crashing into each other. That supernova feeling washed over me again when our tongues began dancing in sync to a slow rhythm. I tightened my hold around her bare skin, tracing my hands up and down her spine then exploring the curve of her hips, but they could never bring me close enough to her.

My heart started skipping beats when she wrapped her legs around my waist, grinding into me. I moved over to kissing her jaw, down to her neck as she gasped for air and purred. I tasted her soft skin, now realizing that I had been starving for so long, craving this. I opened my eyes, stealing a glance at her. Her eyes were closed, hair tousled and strawberry-lips bruised as her slightly tanned skin gleamed in the moonlight. Caught in a trance, admiring every detail of the moment, I didn't even realize I was now rendered motionless until her lust-filled cerulean eyes opened to find mine.

"What's wrong?" Ali asked, a note of concern tainting her voice.

"Nothing," an involuntary grin threatened to split my face, "you're beautiful..."

She smiled and buried her lips in a deep kiss. It might have lasted seconds, minutes, hours. I wasn't sure, all I knew is that we got so lost in each other, time seemed non-existent.

We broke apart as we heard someone whistle.

"You guys are super hot!" I didn't need to look to know that it was Hanna. She always had the worst timing, I swear.

"Hanna! What the hell?" Ali yelled. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to know where this was going to head if I didn't interrupt." Hanna demonstrated what she meant by humping the air. "It's so early, the sun hasn't even gotten up yet and you guys are already going at it."

"What do you want?" I shook my head.

"I just thought you guys should know that Aria drove off a while ago," Hanna immediately became serious again.

"Do you know where she went?" Ali asked.

"No, she was acting really weird and refused to tell me where she was going." Hanna explained.

"Do you think that..." I asked, but Ali finished my sentence.

"-A sent her another message? I know I should have given you guys the phones as soon as we got back in the house!"

I turned back at her, "Don't blame yourself, babe. There's also a possibility that it's not -A."

"But there's also a possibility that it could of been." Ali answered immediately.

"Maybe we should get back inside the house and wake up Spencer." Hanna suggested.

Ali and I nodded, getting out of the pool.

"Aren't you forgetting something, babe?" I asked, "not that I'm complaining... but I don't know if you really want to walk around topless."

Ali's face flooded in a blush. She quickly covered her chest and ran to get her bra.

"Thanks for reminding me," She kissed me on the cheek as we walked inside the house.

Spencer met us half way, almost running over us in the hallway.

"Guys!" She yelled, holding her phone towards us. "Look at this!"

It was a photo of Aria laying down in a pool of blood somewhere, attached to a message that read:

_**"Sleep is the cousin of death; So am I. Kisses, -A"**_

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><p><strong>AN: **_Next chapter is going to be a split between Ali/Aria's POV. If you'd like to see any other character's POV, suggest it and I'll try my best to incorporate it somehow. (: What do you think happened to Aria? How is Ali going to react when she finds out Emily's Samara date for the fashion line premier? Any theories on the crazy plan Hanna/Spencer/Ali came up with?_


	11. History of -A Girl

**A/N: **_CamrenSwag, Guest, EmisonIsEndGame, IntelligentPrincess and WorgenDeathKnight, thank you guys for the AWESOME reviews and thanks to anyone else who's enjoying this fic! You're all the reason why I keep writing this. I'll try my best to update at least twice a week, especially since we're getting into the intense chapters. Remember, look out for hints of -A's identity and feel free to leave your suggestions/theories. Nevertheless, enjoy! (:_

**Ali's POV**

The heavy pounding of my heart simply echoed in the background of my crowded thoughts, as a million and one situations played in my mind all at once; it was too hard to concentrate on just one.

_Was this my fault? Did -A know more than I thought he/she did? Could this have been avoided? What did they really have over Aria's head for her to have gone alone? What wasn't she telling us? _

"This isn't the time to be standing around," Spencer declared, breaking my chain of thought, "We need to go and find her!" her voice started to tremble in what I could only identify as fear, "NOW!"

"This is all my fault," Hanna said, disregarding Spencer's speech, tears brimming at her eyes, "I should have been more persistent and forced her to let me go with her-"

"Guys, get it together," I interrupted, "Like Spencer said, this isn't the time to be emotional. Crying won't let her magically appear out of thin air and be okay. We need to do something and we need to do it now!"

_Wow, this is the second time within 24 hours that I'm actually agreeing with Spencer._

"But we don't even know where she is!" Emily rebutted immediately.

As I was going to agree with her, a light bulb went off bringing light to an ingenious idea. My subconscious clapped in approval.

"Hanna, she took your car right?" I asked and she nodded immediately. "Spencer, give me your phone."

Spencer gave me a brief look of confusion, before giving it to me. I looked over the message, trying to figure out if there was something in the background of the picture that would let me know where she was, but that effort went to no avail.

_There has to be something in this to help me_, I thought to myself. -A was the master of hiding things in plain sight, but that was something I was better than that bitch at.

I read the text in the message, over and over again until I found it.

_How can I be so stupid? It's RIGHT there! What the actual hell?!_

"Spence," I whispered hastily, "Did you realize that -A sent the message FROM Aria's phone?"

"W-what?!" She shook her head, furrowing her eyebrows, "I mean, I- ... WHAT? -A has _never _done that before!"

"No shit," I replied as I walked to my bag that conveniently laid on the kitchen island and took out my phone.

"I have an idea," I said as I hit 5 on my speed dial, "Baby, can you please go and get my laptop from the den?"

"Yeah, sure babe." Emily responded, heading towards the stairs in long strides.

"Hello?" a voice answered after 5 rings.

"Bartholomew!" I quickly greeted, "Is it too late to ask a favor?"

"Madison Darkbloom, it's good to hear from you." he replied, "it's never too late! How can I be of service to you?"

"I'm actually in a bit of a bind at the moment. I need you to trace a license plate and phone number."

"Is everything ok?" A note of concern entered his voice.

"Yeah, but it would be really good if you can do this for me ASAP." I pleaded.

"Sure, just give me the tags and the phone number and I'll jump on it right away."

"One second, let me make you talk to the actual owner of the car," I said, handing the phone over to Hanna. The sight of her tear-stained face made me feel even worst. It was obvious that she was still putting all the blame on herself.

"Just give him your plate number and Aria's phone number," I said as she took the phone. I stood beside her, rubbing her back so that she might relax a bit.

As Hanna and Barth exchanged information, I noticed Spencer pacing up and down the kitchen, running her hands nervously through her hair. She looked as if she was solving the world's toughest math problem or battling demons in her head. What was going on in that big brain of hers? Before I could question her, Emily came back down, putting the laptop on the island in front of us.

"Thanks, babe" I said, pulling her into an embrace and pecking her shoulder.

"Ok, he said that he'll call back in approximately 5 minutes," Hanna notified us as she gave me back the phone, "he also said that you'll need to check the _Jupiter Plutonium _for updates."

"Jupiter Plutonium?" Spencer stopped pacing and arched an eyebrow at me.

"Never mind that, what kind of name is Bartholomew?" Hanna crinkled her nose, "Isn't that some kind of Pokemon?"

_Did she really just ask that at a time like this?_

"No, it's the name of one of Jesus' 12 apostles," Spencer rolled her eyes, "And, I think you mean Mew or Mewtwo."

"I'm not even going to question why you guys actually watch Pokemon," I said, as I let go of Emily and turned on the laptop. She frowned at the lost of contact but leaned her head against my shoulder nonetheless.

"So what's the grand plan, Ali?" Spencer beseeched facetiously.

"Well," I began explaining as I ran the _Jupiter Plutonium _program on the laptop, "Barth is going to live stream the location of both the phone and car to my laptop and - that'll lead us to where Aria might be."

"What exactly is Jupiter Plutonium?" Hanna asked, laying her elbows on the island beside me, trying to see exactly what I was doing. "This looks like gibberish!"

"It's one of the many software I had my programmers develop exclusively for the CIA. It basically has every database from government offices/agencies/companies/organizations around the country, both private and public." I paused to fill in my login information, before continuing, "In layman's terms - it's used to monitor everyone within the United States of America. But tonight, we're using it as a tracking device to find our beloved brunette. It has this neat feature that I can remotely monitor whatever Barth's researching."

I glanced up from my laptop after explaining to see everyone staring at me slack-jawed.

"What?" I curiously inquired.

"If you have all those records then..." Hanna broke the sudden silence, "wouldn't that mean you can access -A's information?"

"Ahhh-" I pointed an index finger, "the key word was _Government_. The _Athena Organization _is probably a bunch of idiots that thought, '_Hey, let's start a cute little cult, stalk people and use whatever we can find against them_'. Honey, there's nothing governmental about that - maybe mental, but not govern_mental_."

"Don't you think that it's strangely out of character for -A to use Aria's phone, though?" Emily asked in general.

"Emily's right," Spencer nodded.

"Come in, it's -A we're talking about. We don't have an -A guideline, or an -A for Dummies book. Maybe they're just doing it to show how close they can get to one of us." Hanna rebutted.

"Who cares? Aria is laying in a pool of blood somewhere and we're here discussing -A's behavior-" The sudden information flashing on my screen interrupted me.

"What is it?" Spencer asked.

"I'm ... not sure, but I think it's saying that the car and the phone are at two different locations..." I stared, trying to figure out if my theory was right. The abrupt ringing of my phone took us my surprise.

"Bartholomew!" I answered, "What does all of this mean?"

"The phone and the car are at different locations. I've programmed the coordinates to the GPS in your G55. Good luck!" He confirmed.

"Thank you, Barth. I'll let you know what happens." I hung up, grabbing my keys and bag. "Let's go. We have two different places to check out."

"Wait, we should split up. That way, we'll reach both location at the same time and the search for Aria will be shorter." Spencer reckoned.

"Right," Hanna agreed, "I'll go with you, Ali and Emily can go with Spencer."

"Yeah, the sexual tension emitting from you guys is ridiculous!" Spencer added tongue-in-cheek, causing a death glare from both Emily and I.

"Whatever. I guess this will be _Team Hali _versus _Team Spemily_." I declared war, "May the best team win. And oh, I'll text you the coordinates, Spence."

We shook hands and raced to our respected vehicles. Spencer went to the location of Hanna's car and I headed to the location of the cellphone. I must admit, it was a bit childish to turn this into a competition, but that's what you get when you're dealing with a Hastings.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure we're at the right place?" Hanna asked as I brought the vehicle to an abrupt stop. We were on a deserted unpaved road that looked like it hadn't been used in ages. Tall trees threatened to overshadow the sky and long vines hung lifelessly from their branches. <em>Talk about a horror movie scene.<em>

"You have reached your destination," The female automated voice from the GPS confirmed.

"Looks like it," I opened the glove compartment and took out a box, "Here, take this. Don't use it unless you have to."

"What is this?" Hanna started playing with it.

"It's a cloaking device," I smirked.

"REALLY?!" She grinned like a child that saw candy for the first time.

"No, it's a taser gun. Don't play with it." I hit her hand and stuck a handgun in the holster around my waist, "Let's go and see if Aria's around here somewhere."

We stepped out of the vehicle and I enabled the alarm system. My hand remained in close proximity to the gun, while walking slowly.

_If I were an unconscious Aria, where would I be?_

"Hanna, call Aria's phone. If it's still on, it'll be easier to find her."

Hanna quickly took out her phone and dialed her number, "Good idea."

A monotone beep rang in a distance. Hanna and I followed the sound trying not to make too much noise, as we ventured into the tree filled area on the side of the road. The ringtone led us to a dilapidated shack which the forest seemed to be slowly devouring.

"Do we _really _have to go inside that?" Hanna shrieked.

"Do you _really _want to save Aria?" I rhetorically mocked, walking closer to the shack.

Hanna followed closely behind. As we got near the door, a ruffling sound caught us off guard. I put my finger against my lips to tell Hanna to be quiet as we scanned the area, trying to identify where it came from. The forest fell silent again, but the feeling of being watched never left us. After 2 minutes of no movement, I got impatient and tried to open the door. It wouldn't budge, so I kicked it open with all my might.

We walked in slowly, letting our eyes adjust to the dim lighting. The forest was sure doing a good job taking over this place as I noticed that fern plants were growing throughout the interior. Paint was peeling off the white walls and some had huge holes going through them, conveniently exposing the contents of each room.

"Look!" Hanna pointed to the floor in front of a locked door, "That's Aria's phone."

I picked it up to confirm that it was Aria's phone. I carefully slipped it in a ziploc bag, hoping we can get finger prints from it later.

"Let's check this room," I gestured towards the locked door.

Hanna nodded and we both kicked it on the count of 5. The door proved to be less sturdy than it looked as it collapsed without much effort. Thankfully it didn't hit the petite body laying on the dusty floor.

"ARIA!" we yelled in unison, running to her but she didn't move.

I noted that she had a pulse, but she lost A LOT of blood. The room looked like a blood bath, actually. I took one of her arms over my shoulder and Hanna did the same with her other arm. We both carried her back to the car as Hanna called Spencer.

"We really need to get her to the nearest Hospital!" Hanna urged as she hopped in the passenger seat.

_No shit._

"We're going to the _Southwest Medical Center_," I announced, "That's the best hospital in the area. What did Spencer say?"

"Yeah, that's where she suggested. Emily and her are going to meet us there."

Hanna took off her scarf, wrapping it around Aria's head to try and stop the bleeding. I drove as fast I possibly could, reaching the hospital's emergency entrance in a record of 15 minutes.

We raced to the backseat, taking each of Aria's arm and rushed through the doors.

"WE NEED A DOCTOR, NOW!" I yelled as soon as we got in.

A nurse behind a counter rushed over after seeing our unconscious friend, grabbing a gurney on her way, followed by two doctors. They assisted in lifting her on the gurney and the doctors wheeled her into a room.

"Has she been here before?" The nurse asked us.

I shook my head as I ran my fingers through my hair. I was too stressed about the situation, but I was trying to keep it together.

"Well, I'll need you to fill out these forms." The nurse handed me a clipboard with a stack of papers attached.

"All of these?" I took the board, flipping through what appeared to be 100 pages.

"No, I'm sorry." The nurse corrected herself, "Only the first 5 pages. I'll be at the check-in desk if you need any help."

"One second," Hanna interrupted, "When will we get an update on our friend?"

"I'm not sure. The doctors will have to run a few tests to see what's wrong before we can know for sure." The nurse answered matter-of-factly. "Do you know what happened? Maybe that can speed up the process."

Hanna shot me a _'HELP ME, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY' _look.

"We were having a slumber party and we were running around. She slipped and hit her head against the island in the kitchen," I quickly fabricated.

The nurse seemed to have bought it, as she nodded before retreating to her desk.

"Impressive, I love the way you lie!" Hanna teased.

"Yeah, shut up, Rihanna." I snarked, finding a seat in the waiting room to fill out these papers.

Hanna sat beside me and helped with answering questions I wasn't sure of. Spencer and Emily took roughly 20 minutes to find us, which gave me enough time to finish with the forms and return them to the nurse.

Spencer and Emily stood in front of us, folding their arms across their chest.

"Can you believe two blondes outsmarted us?" Spencer joked, nudging Emily.

"Technically, I'm a brunette now." I smiled deviously.

"Ms. Darkbloom and Ms. Marin," A doctor introduced himself, "My name is Doctor West. We got through with some tests and we've come to the conclusion that your friend has a severe concussion and she's lost a lot of blood. She'll need to stay in here for a few days, but she'll need an immediate blood transfusion in order to avoid brain damage. Other than that, she'll be okay."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Hanna pushed out one of her arms, "Take my blood!"

"Han, they'll have to check if you have the same blood type before they can take your blood." Spencer shook her head.

"That's right," Dr. West said, "If you follow me, we can run tests on each of you and go from there."

We followed him to the testing lab. It didn't take long to find out that only Emily and I could have given blood to Aria, since she had a O negative blood type. Spencer and Hanna had AB Positive. _Thank God we could do something to help her._

We all decided that we'd stay in the waiting room for updates. Neither of us wanted to go back to the house in case anything happened. Emily and I shared the same seat, even though most of the waiting room was empty. We cuddled into each other, talking to Spencer and Hanna about our -A plan. It was time to take down that bitch and we had the perfect idea.

* * *

><p><strong>Aria's POV<strong>

I slowly opened my eyes, taking in my environment. Everything seemed so blurry and I felt like I got ran over by a truck.

_Where am I? Who IS this monster?_

I rubbed the fatigue away as the room came into focus. The steady beeping sound beside me beat against my air drums, the smell of chlorine and medication filled my lungs and the bright lights against the white walls blinded me.

_A hospital. How did I end up here? The last thing I remembered was- _

My memories came back in waves. I remember getting an SOS message from Ezra and rushing to meet him at a 24/7 vegan cafe on the other side of town. We hadn't talked in a long time, since we broke up during the summer before my first year at Hollis. I've been dating Jake ever since and he didn't want me to talk to Ezra, so I didn't.

_But what happened after that? I don't even remember reaching at the location!_

The door opened and an old nurse came in.

"Good, you're up!" She warmly said, coming over to check my vitals.

"Yeah, but I feel horrible." I answered honestly.

"You know," she began explaining while writing down her readings on a clipboard, "there's a girl in B-26 that came in with the same injury as you."

_Isn't information like that supposed to be confidential?_

"Really?" I asked a little too eager.

"Yes, Ma'am." Her southern accent now becoming evident, "She's been here since last week. Poor girl."

"Why so long? If she has the same injuries as me, I'd think that she'd be able to leave after a day or two?"

"Well, Sweet Tea, she had to be transferred to the B-wing after her first night. She hasn't been stable for a while now."

I rubbed my eyes again as I suddenly started feeling dizzy. I shook it off, but as I opened my eyes again, the old nurse wasn't there anymore. I didn't even hear the door open or close, plus it'd be impossible for her to move that fast.

_Am I going crazy? Was it an illusion? Is this a dream?_

I looked over at the nightstand beside my bed and saw the clipboard she had. As I read over it, I noticed that she simply wrote B-26 on it.

_Was it a coincidence that her room seemed to have the same name of Ezra's poem?_

I couldn't stay in here and just wonder. I needed to find out. I popped out every tube attached to me, took some pain killers and sneaked out of the room. The halls were mostly vacant with occasional doctors and nurses. I had to make sure I avoided them.

I ventured into the halls after garnering enough courage to take the risk. It wasn't the first time I've sneaked around a hospital, so this shouldn't be so hard. As I turned around a corner, I saw a nurse walking towards me. I hid behind a gurney until she passed.

_Thank God she didn't see me._

I glanced up and saw a huge map of the hospital on a bulletin board. I looked briefly over it, trying to find where the B-wing was. Tracing my finger around every room on it, I finally found it.

_Why would she be there? _Apparently that's where they kept everyone under top surveillance. That leaves the question if she's mental or something.

While I was busy trying to remember a route from where I was to the B-Wing, a hand lightly tapped me against the shoulder.

_"Please don't let this be a doctor, please don't let this be a doctor, please don't let this be a doctor," _I chanted in my head, before turning around to see a face that I wasn't expecting.

_WHAT THE HELL?_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Sorry for any typos. I just wanted to upload this before the night was over. Theories anyone? (: Should I make the chapters shorter?_


	12. Blind ThreAts

**A/N: **_Sorry about the back-to-back cliffhangers. I was supposed to finish the hospital scene last chapter, but I realized it would have been too long, so I decided to carry it over to this one. I promise this won't leave you guize hanging again, but I can't guarantee that you won't be left with more questions. Also, thanks for ALL the reviews! Last chapter totally broke the record for most reviews I've gotten so far and I REALLY appreciate it. To FallenxLeaves, I try my best to update every Wednesday and Saturday :), To IntelligentPrincess and WorgenDeathKnight, your questions will be answered in this chapter! To Alison (Guest), haha you are wonderful! And to everyone requesting more Emison scenes, you'll def. get your wish granted in the next chapter. (: Enjoy!_

**Aria's POV**

"Jake?" I asked in disbelief as I mentally assessed him, "What are you doing here?"

_How did he know where to find me? I don't even know where I am or how I got here!_

"Hanna called me and told me what happened," he stepped forward, pulling me into a bear hug and resting his chin on top of my head, "I got so worried, I literally begged Caleb to drive us all the way over here to make sure you were alright, baby."

That leaves the question, _what happened to me? _I woke up in an unknown hospital filled with creepy nurses who disappeared in thin air, after giving cryptic messages and now my boyfriend conveniently pops out of no where, as soon as I was about to track down some nut-case in the B-wing.

"Hanna's here?" I pulled away a bit so that I could face him, "Where is she?"

"You don't remember anything, do you?" Jake frowned, "All your friends were here, waiting until you woke up. They left with Caleb as soon as we got here, so that they could take showers and get some breakfast. They said they'll be back in an hour or two."

_Breakfast? What time was it?!_

"I don't remember _anything_," I shook my head, emphasizing the last word.

"Hanna didn't say much. She just told me that you hit your head really bad," Jake started gently caressing the bandage wrapped around my forehead, which I hadn't noticed until he did so, "You had a severe concussion and the doctors insisted on keeping you here overnight for observation. You shouldn't even be roaming the halls right now!"

"What?" I shrieked, widening my eyes, "How long have I been here?!"

"Well, Hanna said she brought you here around 6 AM," he looked up to the ceiling, inwardly calculating the time, "And it's around 11:30 AM right now, so - you've been here roughly 5 and a half hours."

_Oh, God. I have to sleep in this hellhole tonight? _Chills ran down my spine as the thought entered my mind. There's just something about this place that doesn't fit right with me. Though I was grateful that I now knew why I felt as if I was ran over by a car.

I disdainfully curved the corner of my lip, "Yeah, well - let's just say I woke up feeling like hell."

_Or more like I was IN hell._

Jake laughed halfheartedly, though I noticed the anguish smoldered in his eyes.

"What?" I arched an eyebrow at him.

"Nothing," his hand fell from my bandaged head to my pale cheeks as he leaned in to kiss my forehead, "you just look so cute right now."

I sighed silently as I leaned my head back against his chest. _How can I ditch him now? I really need to try and find this girl before the halls get busy again, but how can I? He came all this way to make sure I was alright. I doubt he'd even let me leave out of his eyesight after this. _A pang of guilt hung heavily from the branches of my heart strings, slowly creeping throughout my body as I considered different methods of ridding him of my presence; but if I did that - remorse would continue to unbearably eat me alive, _so what other options do I have?_

"Jake, do you love me?" I mumbled against his shirt-clad chest.

"Should that even be a question?" He responded warily.

I asked, ignoring his question, "How much?"

"That's like explaining the taste of water, Aria," he pulled me away, catching my gaze with sincerity burning in his eyes, "I'd do anything for you. I love you ... so much, babe."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Well," I hesitated, thinking of the right way to word this, "I need you to do a favor for me and I'm not going to take no for an answer."

"What do you need me to do?" He furrowed his eyebrows, eyeing me quizzically.

Should I really bring him into this? I mean, he knows about my history with Ezra but he doesn't approve of it. So, how can I convince him to help me sneak into the B-Wing?

_Come on, Aria. Do what you do best; Think on your feet!_ My mind retorted.

"Aria!" Jake waved a hand in front of my face, "Come on, you know that you can tell me anything."

I heard footsteps coming from around the corner, so I quickly pulled Jake into a room beside the bulletin board.

"Seriously, what's going on, Aria?!" Jake demanded answers as he switched on the light, revealing shelves filled with nurses' uniforms and equipment.

"Put this on," I grabbed two uniforms and threw one at him, "We're going to visit another patient here."

Jake caught the uniform, quirking his eyebrows at me as if I were the nut-case, "Are you serious?"

"You said that you'd do anything for me," I answered dismissively as I began changing into the uniform, "This is anything."

When I was done slipping into the scrubs, I moved my attention back to him. He was busy searching my face for something. Knowing him, he's probably contemplating whether or not I'm actually losing it or if I'm actually serious about all of this. He shook his head, finally finding what he was looking for and began putting on his scrubs as well.

As we walked out of the room, a doctor stopped and shifted his eyes incessantly between Jake and I.

"Great way to stay on top of things," the doctor winked suggestively at me before walking off, whistling down the hall.

"Well that was awkward," I shrugged it off.

"Agreed," Jake nodded, "So who are we visiting?"

"Someone in the B-Wing," I pointed at the map on the bulletin board beside the door, "it's on the other side of the hospital."

"Well, let's go before we get fired," Jake joked as he grabbed my hand and ventured to the elevator.

* * *

><p>They weren't joking when they noted the B-Wing as the top surveillance area. There were cameras on every corner, security guards constantly patrolling the halls and the entrance was protected by a fingerprint recognition hardware. You'd think this is Area 51 and aliens were running freely inside if you didn't know better.<p>

"How the hell are we supposed to get in here?" Jake mirrored my thoughts.

I scanned the area, trying to come up with a plan. _If only Spencer was here. _The sudden sound of a metal locks gaping caught our attention. It seemed like someone was exiting the area, which would be a great opportunity to sneak in. Jake pulled me in a squatting position behind the door with him as the person walked out.

"Yes, Mr. Wesley. I'm on my way over to forensics right now with the results." He talked into his phone, clasping a clipboard under his arm while walking towards the elevator that we freshly came out of.

"Hurry," Jake whispered as he held the door ajar.

I ran inside, holding the door for Jake to squeeze in as well. The strong smell of medication entered our lungs as the door closed. It's the normal smell of a room in a hospital times ten. _It's no wonder people go crazy in here._

"We should have brought masks," I scoffed.

Jake chuckled, "Where to now?"

"B-26," I answered, observing the doors. I noted that _B-10 _was on our left and _B-50 _was on our right hand side, "It shouldn't be far from here."

"Yeah," he said, walking parallel to me, "this place looks like an asylum."

"Aww, are you scared?" I nudged jokingly against him.

"No," he chuckled, "but I watched the entire Season 2 of_ American Horror Story _last night on Netflix. So, technically - I'm an expert on places like these now."

"You do know that's just a show right?" I rolled my eyes, suppressing a giggle, "If it were true, we'd have literally met the devil by now and probably be thrown into a cell."

"Don't jinx it, babe!" Jake gasped, feigning fear, "Hey, isn't that the room you're looking for?" he pointed at the last door on the left, as we reached the cul-de-sac.

Under the engraved number sign read _Maykis, Calypso_.

"Yup," I nodded, "Wish me luck!"

"Wait, are you going in alone?" Jake frowned, "Am I just your watchdog now?"

"No, but you can be my bitch," I gave him a tantalizing grin as I tried to open the door. "Ugh, it's locked!"

"That's what you get for thinking that I'd be your bitch," he mocked, "Let me try and open it for you."

Jake took out two pins from his wallet and skillfully maneuvered them in the keyhole. It only took him a minute to successfully open the door.

"There you go," he smiled proudly as if he finished an art masterpiece.

"I'm not even going to ask where you learned that, but thanks," I kissed him appreciatively on the cheek and ventured inside the room.

The door immediately closed behind me as the lights flickered on, revealing a woman with a head of long unkempt orange hair. She was facing a blank cement wall, sitting at what seemed to be a desk.

"Who dares enter my Chamber of Secrets?" She croaked, dragging every word in her question in a thick foreign accent.

_Okay - maybe this was a bad idea._

She turned around, finally exposing her olive-tone freckled face. Her eyes were so grey, they almost looked white, reminiscent of Storm's eyes from the Marvel Comic Books or the X-Men movies. Her pouty red lips curled into a menacing smile as she got a good glance at me.

_I guess she isn't blind._

"Sorry if I'm - interrupting anything here," I began explaining, "I'm actually a patient here as well, despite the scrubs and I-"

"Aria Montgomery," she interrupted, tilting her head at an inhumane angle, "I know who you are and I know where you're here."

_How did she know my name? _I thought to myself, as the color of my cheeks turned pale. Chills ran down my spine as her eyes analyzed my every movement.

"Junior at Hollis, majoring in English with the hopes of become an author one day," she continued, "Trust me, I know a lot more about you than just your name." She stated, as if reading my thoughts.

"How do you know who I am?" I asked as strongly as I could, though my knees felt as if they would fail me at any moment, "How do you know so much about me?"

She got up from her seat, walking into the middle of the room. The lights started flickering again as she started cracking her neck numerous times, closing her eyes.

_WTF? This bitch is cray cray._

"No, you can't tell her!" Her voice transformed into a sound less intimidating.

"Yes, she needs to know." Her voice transformed again, into something more authoritative.

"Dead. Girls. Walking." She whispered hoarsely in gibberish with only those words being perceptible.

The lights stopped flickering and her eyes opened again. Her pupils now turning into a golden brown.

_Is that even humanly possible?! _I thought that old nurse earlier was creepy, but she looked like the embodiment of normal in comparison to this chick. It was an understatement for her to say that Calypso was simply _'unstable'_; she was off the rocker, mad as a hatter and nutty as a fruitcake!

I quickly turned away and reached for the door, but I felt her hand on my shoulder, pulling me back to her.

"Wait!" She requested softly in a voice I hadn't heard her use before. "It's no coincidence that you're here, Aria. Don't you want answers?"

I leaned against the door for support, nodding at her. I was in too much of a shock to even open my mouth, much less move any of my limbs right now.

Her fingers suddenly became more interesting to her as her eyes moved towards her fidgeting hands. _What's wrong with this girl?_

"I came here after a woman in a red coat hit me over the head while I was walking home from my job," she sighed and her voice started trembling, "during the first night, she visited me in my hospital room and - ever since then, my medication stopped working. You see - I've struggled with _Dissociative Identity Disorder _since I was a kid. I've been taking pills to keep it under control, but now nothing's helping it. I can't control who I am anymore."

"Do you know who she is?" I asked, trying not make any physical contact with her, though she seemed as if she was in dire need of a hug.

"Luzit says that she thinks her name is Lily, but she's not always right." She explained.

"Who's Luzit?"

"Her," she pointed to a picture on the desk she was sitting at.

"But that's a picture of you ..."

"No, that's Luzit." She turned back to me, "I'm Calypso."

"Well, is she your twin? You guys look awfully identical."

She shook her head, indicating that she didn't have a twin.

_I swear she's getting weirder by the second._

"Luzit told me that you would come here. She told me everything about you." She idly started swaying her body side-to-side, "she also said that Lily is monitoring you closely and that you shouldn't sleep alone tonight."

_How trust worthy is someone that I don't even know is real? This girl is borderline schizophrenic, yet she knows so much about me. But how much of this information can I trust?_

"Well, tell Luzit I said thanks for her help," I said, finally building up the strength to get the hell out of here, "And thank you for your time as well, Lu- I mean, Calypso."

She smiled childishly at me, as her eyes changed back to grey. I quickly ran outside and locked the door at the sight.

"Woah, you look like you saw a ghost!" Jake laughed, "How did it go?"

Gee, if only he knew that I felt as if I really saw a ghost, or at least someone possessed by the spirit of one - and no, I'm not talking about alcohol.

"Hmm, I might have." I answered as I started walking back to the exit, "It was - a bit informative, I guess."

_Is -A's real name Lily? I don't even know anyone by the name of Lily. Maybe it was someone who had a similar name to Lily, or at least a sibling by the name of Lily. Who knows? I don't even know why I'm even considering something a nut-job told me. Either way, I definitely wasn't sleeping alone if I have to sleep here tonight. Hopefully the girls can shed some light on this._

* * *

><p>After what felt like ages of waiting in my room, the girls finally came back with Caleb holding bags of Chinese takeout.<p>

"ARIA!" Hanna yelled, jumping on the bed to hug me, "you're awake!"

"Yeah, Captain Obvious," I joked as I hugged her back.

"We were so worried about you, Ar" Emily walked to the opposite of the bed, stroking her hand against my hair.

"Yeah, little one," Spencer added, "I've - We've missed you!"

"I'm okay, guys." I reassured them, "I'm just a bit worried."

"Why are you worried?" Ali walked towards the end of my bed, a worried expression tainting her perfect features.

"You guys have to promise that you won't get mad at me," I bit my lip, shifting my eyes to each of them. They simply nodded, encouraging me to continue.

"Spill!" Spencer demanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Jake and I ..." I began explaining.

"Had sex in a hospital room?!" Hanna interrupted, earning a glare from everyone, except the boys. I noted that Caleb attempted to high-five Jake.

"No!" I protested, "We sneaked into the B-wing to see someone."

"Isn't that where the lock up all the crazy people here?" Spencer pressed.

"Actually, yes it is, but let me continue." I answered, "A nurse came in here when I woke up and she told me that there was another girl here that came in with an identical injury last week. I thought that maybe it wasn't a coincidence, so I went to talk to her. She said that a woman by the name of Lily hit her over the head. But, that's not the best part, she said that the woman was wearing a red coat!"

All the girls gasped,

"Who is this girl?" Emily asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Her name is Calypso, Calypso Maykis."

"Who names their child Calypso?" Hanna cringed.

"How credible is her information? I mean, she is in the nut-house," Spencer pestered, "And how does she know the woman's name?"

"I'm not sure, but she knew who I was as soon as she saw me," I licked my lips hesitantly, "She said her friend Luzit told her that the woman's name is Lily."

"Does Luzit happen to be her imaginary friend?" Spencer jeered.

"Let's just say, she's a borderline schizophrenic, but - let's not forget that she knew a lot about me!" I defended, though a part of me hoped that she was wrong.

"Oh, that's why they named her Calypso," Hanna looked up to the ceiling as if receiving some divine revelation, "All the voices in her head are having a fricking party!"

"Yeah, Calypso Maykis my ass if she thinks we're going to believe her delusional epiphanies," Ali added.

_Oh, God. It should be illegal for Ali and Hanna to be in the same room._

"Maybe we should try and find out more information about Calypso, before we totally dismiss her," Emily rebutted with her words of wisdom, "And just for the record, you were in the nut-house too, Spencer."

"Ohhhh, burnnnn!" Jake and Caleb cheered from their corner, scoring a death glare from Spencer.

_Ali is definitely rubbing off on her._

Hanna and I starting giggling hysterically as Ali gave Emily a look of approval.

My cellphone started ringing. I didn't even know it was in this room.

"Can someone get that for me?" I politely asked.

"I'll get it, Ar." Spencer offered, looking around the room until she found a bag filled with my possessions.

Her face melted from calm to pure shock, "GUYS! YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!"

"Wait, bring it over here! I don't think that I can get up right now." I stated, which was true. I was still feeling weak in the knees after my adventures today.

Spencer ran over, showing us the message.

_**"No one imitates me and gets away with it. Kisses, The real -A."**_

A picture of Ezra laying curled up on the ground with a bullet wound to his head was attached.

_Was he the one that did this to me?!_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Anyone else misses Samara? Who do you think -A really is? Anyone mad about Ezra? What do you think about Calypso? Let me know in the review section! (:_


	13. Schizophrenic BehAvior

**A/N: **_I know "Blind ThreAts was a little out of the ordinary, but I can assure you that it wasn't just a filler. Nothing that happens is a coincidence; they are all hints of what's to come - even the smallest or most bizarre details. Calypso was actually a big clue, though she's too delusional to put the pieces together, however she's going to be a key factor in tracking down the real -A. Speaking of which, what motives do you think Ezra had for impersonating -A and doing such a sloppy job at it? To FallenxLeaves, Guest, IntelligentPrincess, BSwifty1997, Alisondilaurentis96 and dedeonline, you guys are all on the right track! Calypso is only going to become more and more interesting as well. I can't wait for you guys to see what will happen in the upcoming chapters! Thanks for all the reviews/follows/favs, as I always say, I love them! (:_

**Emily's POV**

Aria convinced all of us to sleep in her room last night, but she didn't really want to explain why, though I can understand - I mean, this place gave me the _heebie-jeebies _the first time we stepped inside. The pale, windowless white walls that seemed to stretch for an eternity, the dull tiled floors that sported occasional blood splatters, the dim lighting bordered by an eerie darkness and the feeling of ... _death_ around every corner.

If that wasn't bad enough, everyone's cold, bottomless eyes - _nurses, doctors, janitors and everyone in between _- showcased their lack of humanity. I guess witnessing a number of people die everyday eventually takes a toll on you, until you become completely numb to it. But that leaves the question, _how many times do you have to be exposed to something so bizarre, for it to become a norm? _I still couldn't shake the memory of getting coffee for everyone yesterday, only to pass two doctors nonchalantly talking in the hallway over a gurney with someone's body laying limp with a sheet pulled over it's head. Ali had to comfort me the entire night for me to recover from the sight. _God, what would I do without her?_

"Seriously, I really don't see why I had to stay overnight," Aria complained as we walked through the front door of Ali's mansion.

"Aria, you lost a lot of blood and you had a severe concussion," Spencer countered, "You could have _died _if we didn't find you in time. It's pretty standard for them to observe you, so that they're sure you're okay enough, before they let you leave."

I watch Aria shudder at the thought, while I locked the door behind us. Ali led everyone to the living room for a seat, though Jake and Caleb were too busy admiring the interior to even consider sitting down.

"Do you guys really think Ezra did that to me?" Aria whispered, trying not to let the guys hear. She didn't want Jake to know about the message we got from -A as yet and Caleb was trying his best to distract him, so that we could talk about it without him noticing.

"What's the last thing that you remember?" Hanna inquired, eating a cheese stick that she got out of her bag.

"Well," Aria scrunched her face as she began her recollection, "I woke up to a message from Ezra asking me to meet him at this 24/7 cafe on the other side of town. He said it was something urgent, but he didn't say exactly what it was. So - I quickly got ready and ran out the door, of course with Hanna hot on my tail, but I shrugged her off. I remember driving there as well ... the weird part is, I don't remember arriving."

"He probably needed a new idea for the sequel to his book about us," Hanna scoffed.

"Would it be possible that he did that to get you out of the house?" Ali asked, coming up with some theory, "Maybe he was - WAIT A SECOND - Follow me! That means you too, Captain America and Superman."

"Just to be clear, I'm Superman, right?" Caleb joked and Jake hit him in the back of his head.

Ali rolled her eyes as the rest of us laughed, teasing each other while we trailed behind her. I wonder what brilliant idea she had now and I also wondered why she included the guys in it as well. She's not really a trusting person and she's only known them for a few hours, but I guess she's a good judge of character. I mean, Caleb and Jake are definitely genuine individuals.

The walk wasn't long. We ventured up to the library on the 2nd floor. It was huge, with walls and walls of bookshelves. It looked like a prestigious college's library, or at least how I imagine one would look. Just when you thought this house didn't have any more rooms, Ali pushed a button on one of her study desks, which caused one of the bookshelves to sink into the floor, revealing the passage way for a dark secret room.

"And here I was, thinking this place couldn't get better," Hanna blurted out, verbalizing everyone else's thoughts.

"Wait until you see the room," Ali smirked, gesturing for us to walk inside, "The door closes 10 seconds after being opened."

"You know, you didn't include this in my tour," I whispered jokingly to Ali as she interlocked our fingers.

"That's because I _reallyyy_ wanted to get you alone in the stargazer," she replied in a sultry, breathy voice, letting her lips brush lightly against my ears, sending electric charges to my lower abdomen. _Unf, she'll be the death of me._

"Welcome to the _Quantum Earth Council!_" Ali yelled in glee as the lights turned on.

All the walls were metallic silver. The floors and ceilings seemed to be made out of pure glass, with some sort of back light underneath them, giving the impression that you were walking down the oh-so-famous tunnel into the afterlife. That's exactly what this looked like; the afterlife, maybe even heaven. There were also huge projection TV screens on three different walls. Shelves and tables were scattered with a bunch of gadgets over them, along with three rows of state-of-the-art computer systems in the middle of the room.

"Really? Quantum Earth Council?" Spencer mocked, quirking an eyebrow, "Are you running some sort of cult, Ali?"

"Maybe," Ali interjected, "but that's not the reason I brought you guys in here. I need to see if my theory is right."

And with that, she gently squeeze my hand before letting go, venturing off to one of the computers.

"Okay, Aria left around ... 3 AM," Ali stated as she typed some commands into the system, sending the information to the projection screens as we watched, "So we'll check the surveillance recordings from about 12 AM until then. I'll fast forward through the time, so I'll need you guys to let me know if you see any unusual activity."

_Where was she going with this?_

All of us stood with our arms folded, waiting for something out of the ordinary. This was a really boring task. I mean, going through 3 hours of watching parked cars was a humdrum task, even if it was being fast-fowarded.

"I think I saw something at 2:45," Caleb pointed out to Ali, which made her rewind back to the time and play it at a normal speed.

"Yeah, I see the bastard too," Jake added indignantly, obviously irritated at the sight of his girlfriend's attacker.

"Hey, can you zoom in, Ali?" Hanna requested, moving closer to the screen along with Spencer.

"Sure thing." Ali responded, typing in more commands, "Give me a second."

And there he was. He was dressed in a black baseball cap, a black trench coat and black slacks. He was looking around cautiously, before he used a crowbar to get into Hanna's vehicle. When he got it, he hid himself in the backseat and closed all the doors.

_No wonder she couldn't remember reaching the location! He probably knocked her out somehow while she as driving there and used Hanna's vehicle to drive her to that abandoned shack!_

"EZRA? He did this?" Jake squawked, "I told Aria he was dangerous a long time ago! If I ever find him, he's dead meat!"

_Jeez, if only he knew that Ezra was already road kill._

"Jake, please don't let anyone hear you say that," Aria pleaded in a hushed tone voice.

"Are you kidding me?" Jake flopped his arms, "He knocked you out and left you for dead, Aria!"

"I don't think that's what she meant," Caleb rested his hand on Jake's shoulder, "Ezra's dead already. We don't want anyone to think you're behind this."

"Yeah, Caleb's right." I added, "We just found out earlier and the last thing we need right now, is cops on our heels, thinking we killed that jerk."

"What?" Jake asked in disbelief, "When were you guys going to tell me?"

"That's the reason I asked you to follow me," Ali interrupted, "I think that you and Caleb would be a great addition to our team to help us figure out who the real monster is. Ezra died because he impersonated the one person all of us were scared of - and that person killed him because of it."

"That's a great idea actually," Hanna complimented, "Jake has the muscles and Caleb has the geeky-tech knowledge."

"So I get to use all of these?" Caleb asked, picking up some of the gadgets that were laying around.

"And I get to protect my girl?" Jake put his arm around Aria, kissing the top of her head and giving Caleb a nod.

"We're in!" They stated in chorus.

The girls and I squealed with wild exuberance, well - excluding for Spencer.

"What about Toby?" She frowned.

"Sure, why not?" Ali answered in defeat, walking back to me, "Just fill him in on everything that's happened and make sure he's here for our first official meeting to execute the plan."

"And what exactly is the plan?" Caleb turned his attention to Ali, fiddling with some sort of remote control in his hands.

"I thought you'd never asked," Hanna began explaining, "we're going to do a bargain with the devil."

"What she means to say," Spencer nudged Hanna, "is that we're going to give -A something he/she wants and then we're going to turn it around to use it against them."

"How do you know that's going to work? And how do you know what -A wants?" Jake furrowed his eyebrows.

"You see this?" Ali holds up a small tablet shaped device, "It's called the_ Iron Bloodhound_. It's a disguisable fingerprinting device with a wireless transmitter. We're going to put it inside a touchscreen tablet and let -A think that it contains every recording the N.A.T. Club had in their possession. The trick is - the tablet will only work with skin contact, so -A will have to take off his/her gloves, and when they do that - the transmitter will immediately send it these computers."

"No way! Why haven't I heard about this before?" Caleb asked with a face splitting grin.

"Because it hasn't been made known to the public," Ali answered matter-of-factly, "Apart from other things, my company is in charge of engineering new devices and software for the CIA, so I have the privilege of testing out all the prototypes."

"This plan is genius!" Jake gave Ali a high-five.

"Please, it was mostly Spencer's and Hanna's idea," Ali responded humbly, "I simply provided the equipment."

"Speaking of ideas," I said as a streak of genius hit me, "Spencer! You should team up with Caleb and Bartholomew to find some information about Calypso. You guys can be our personal I.T. department in this investigation."

"That's actually a pretty good idea," Spencer nodded and Ali kissed my cheek.

"Hey! What about me?" Hanna protested.

"You can be the chief inquisitor," I answered.

"God knows you'll make a good one," Ali laughed, "And before I forget - here are your phones. I don't want anyone getting anymore messages from -A."

Ali distributed the phones to all of us, including Jake and Caleb.

"Is this the new iPhone for next year?" Caleb shrieked.

"Sure is," Ali smirked, "like I said, I get to test out all the prototypes."

"I think I found my new best friend. Sorry, Jake!" Caleb announced, putting his sim card into the new phone.

"Whatever," Jake playfully pushed Caleb, "Don't come running back, though."

"Pssh, that's not going to happen. All I need is my phone," Caleb stated, getting a death glare from Hanna, "...and my beautiful girlfriend whom I love so much." He quickly corrected himself.

We spent the rest of the day refining the details of our plan, before everyone left to go back to their campuses. There was no doubt that it wasn't going to work, but we made sure we had a plan A to Z, just in case.

* * *

><p><em>Why were Monday mornings always so dreadful? Why do I have to study so many subjects that won't even benefit me in my future career? I mean, really, is any of this necessary? Ugh.<em>

If Ali didn't live so far away, I could have slept there last night. It's beginning to feel like I don't see her enough. I'm just glad that I got in so late, Samara was already asleep. I don't know how I'll face her after what happened on Friday, but there's no way I'm staying locked up in my room all day.

I got up after reminding myself that I can't afford to miss any of my morning classes today, since I conveniently have graded assignments that I need to hand up in each one of them.

_Hmm, what am I going to wear today?_ I asked myself, looking inside my closet.

It didn't take too long to decide on black wedge sneakers, dark blue skinny jeans and a white sheer blouse over a black tank top.

I raced to the shower, noting that there was no sign of Samara in sight as yet, which was a good thing. If I was lucky enough, I might be able to sneak out before she even notices that I'm home already. I spent most of the time in the shower practicing how the conversation will go, whenever I see her again.

_Maybe I'm over thinking this._

As I got dressed, I thought that should have breakfast in the cafe on campus and avoid running into - _SHIT!_

Samara was standing outside of the door as I opened it, giving me a mischievous smile as our eyes met.

"Good Morning, Em Bear!" She greeted a little too happily.

"Hey, Samara! I thought you were still asleep." I said nervously.

"I got up as soon as I heard the shower turn on," she shrugged, "I thought I was home alone."

"Oh, I actually got back last night, but you were already asleep." I explained.

"Yeah, I went to bed early last night because-"

"Samara, I'm so sorry about Friday," I interrupted her, "I think that we should really talk about it."

"Don't worry, Em." She walked pass me into the bathroom, "And besides, I know that Ms. Darkbloom is actually Alison."

_WHAT? _

"How did you find out?!" I asked, trying to keep my voice down.

"Well, I was cleaning around the house and I came across one of your photo albums." Samara turned around to face me once again, "I saw a picture of a blonde in there and I asked myself, _where have I seen that beautiful face before? _Then it just ... clicked. I mean, at least now I know why you're so smitten by her. But don't worry, I'm not going to say anything. Something tells me that she had a pretty good reason to fake her death."

_This is exactly the reason why I liked Samara. She's so understanding, it's almost unnatural._

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. She doesn't really want anyone to know." I sighed, "And for the record, I never stopped having feelings for you - it's just that ... well, you know how I feel about Alison."

"It's okay, Em Bear!" Samara stroked the tip of my nose with her finger, "I understand. I just want you to know that I'll always be here for you in _any_ and _every_ way possible. Oh, I wanted to ask - are you still going to the winter line premier with me? If it won't be a problem with Alison, or should I say, Ms. Darkbloom."

"Of course I'll be your date. I owe you that much!" I pulled Samara into a hug, "I'm sure Ali will understand."

"Good! Look, I really don't want things to be awkward between us, Em." Samara said as she let go from my embrace, "I'd rather have you as a friend, than not have you at all."

"It won't be awkward, I promise." I squeezed her hand, getting a little emotional.

"Thank God," She chuckled, "I was a bit scared that it would be. Anyway, let me hit the shower and maybe we can walk to class together."

"Sure, I'll get some breakfast while you do that. Don't have too much fun in there." I teased.

"Eww, Em!" Samara threw a towel at me and closed the door.

* * *

><p>Classes went by a little faster than I thought. It's such a relief that Samara didn't make a big deal out of what happened.<p>

I heard a phone ringing and didn't realize that it was mine. I'm still getting used to this new phone that Ali gave all of us. I retrieved it from my bag and saw that it was a text message.

_**"Hey, baby. Are you busy? I miss you. Xx, Ali."**_

_**"I just got out of my last class today. I miss you too, babe. Xx, Em."**_ I quickly replied.

Ali quickly replied, which was odd because she's not really a fast texter. I guess I'm rubbing off on her a little.

_**"I miss you more. Meet me in the parking lot. Xx, Ali."**_

_**"Aww, are we really going to be one of those couples? What time should I meet you outside? Xx, Em."**_

_**"Yes. And now. (; Xx, Ali."**_

_Now? How did she know what time my class would be over? How long has she been waiting there? I swear, I'll never understand her._

I quickly ran to the nearest bathroom to fix my hair, before I went to the parking lot. It was about a 5 minute walk since I was in the science building, which is the furthest building away from the parking lot. _Ugh, I'd probably be a bit sweaty by the time I reach there._

I scanned the parking lot, but I didn't see her SUV. When I turned around, someone covered my eyes with their hand and kissed lightly against the base of my neck.

"I've missed you," Ali whispered huskily.

"You really shouldn't surprise me like that, Ali. I could have killed you!" I said, trying my best to sound annoyed, but I couldn't help but smile.

"With what? Your Hello Kitty backpack? I'm terrified!" She stated, feigning fear.

"Maybe," I giggled, "Babe, why are you covering my eyes?"

"Ohhh, I thought you liked role-playing," she teased, kissing along my neck once again.

"I have you know, we're in public," I reminded her, "though I wouldn't mind taking you _right here _... _right now._"

"Hmm, as tempting as that sounds, we'll have to save it for later." She removed her hands and kissed my lips, before dragging me to a car I haven't seen her use before.

"You changed vehicles?" I curiously inquired.

"Yeah, this is what I mostly use when Gregorio isn't driving me around," She answered, opening the passenger door for me. "It's a Custom Nissan GTR."

"Whatever that is," I shrugged, getting into the vehicle, while Ali ran over to the driver's side, "this is a really beautiful car, though."

"Not as beautiful as you," she pecked me on my lips as she revved the engine to life.

"Where are we going?" I asked after I noticed that she made a wrong turn.

"Put this on," she ignored my question, giving my a blindfold.

"Hmm, kinky," I teased.

"I swear, it's not what you're thinking," Ali chuckled, " I have a surprise for you, so please put it on, baby."

_Fine._ I did as she asked.

The ride was surprisingly short. Ali guided me out of the vehicle and up a flight of stairs. _Where the hell was this girl taking me?_

"Okay, you can take it off now." Ali instructed and even though I couldn't see her, I knew that she was smirking.

I took off the blindfold and the first thing I saw was a beautiful apartment. It had the view of the Pennsylvenia Skyline, split-level wooden floors, beige walls and a wide variety of expensive looking furniture.

"What is this?" I asked slack-jawed.

"Good afternoon, ladies!" A below average height, handsome Italian guy came walking in. "You must be Ms. Emily Fields! It's so nice to finally meet the girl that Alison has been talking about since I knew her. I'm Liam!"

_Oh, Liam! Ali's assistant. And to think, I was actually a bit worried when I heard that her assistant was a guy. Wow._

"Liam! It's a pleasure to meet you as well," I gave him a firm hug, "Ali has told me about you as well."

"Good things, I hope," he shot Ali a glance and she laughed.

"I have nothing but good things to say about you, Liam!" Ali hugged him as well.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure that I got to see the infamous Emily Fields before I left," Liam stated, "I hope that you both enjoy the rest of your day."

Ali and I gave Liam our goodbyes, before starting our convo again.

"So, what is all of this?" I asked again.

"Well," Ali began acting nervous, twisting her body back and forth, "I felt so ... lonely after you left yesterday. I kind of ... decided that I'd get an apartment around Danby, with the hopes of expediting your decision on whether to move in with me or not."

_Oh my God, can she get any more cute? Maybe I can use this to my advantage. _

"You know what," I paused, pretending that I was in deep thought, "I'll move in under two conditions."

Ali's eyes sparked in excitement, "Really? Yes! Anything that you want baby!"

"Well ... remember I told you that Samara had that meeting with the fashion agency?" Ali shook her head warily, "Well ... they invited her to Annual Winter line Premier at Shockwave Center - and she sort of asked me to be her date. I already promised her that I would go before everything that happened on Friday."

"Isn't that going to be on Wednesday?" Ali asked.

"Yes, in two days. How did you know?"

"Because I get invited to it every year," she shrugged, "What's the 2nd condition?"

"I feel a little bad about leaving Samara at the dorm alone, so I want her to feel free to come over whenever she wants." I said sheepishly.

"But, Em!" Ali pouted, "We can't forget that she's in love with you too!"

"She knows who you are, Ali." I blurted without thinking.

"What? You told her?!" She asked in horror.

"She kind of found out! I didn't tell her. Trust me, she won't tell anyone and she respects our relationship." I reassured her, "I love you and only you, babe. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Fine," Ali sighed and gave me a chaste kiss, "but I'm only agreeing because I really want us to live together."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _I got mixed reviews on Samara, but I like her too much to write her out. Plus, a little jealousy is always fun, isn't it? Who knows, maybe she'll become an important character soon enough. (; Also, a VERY interesting character will make an appearance next chapter. Trust me, it'll be one of the best chapters so far. Anyway, what do you guys think about Spencer, Barth and Caleb running the I.T. Department on the Quantum Earth Council? What do you think they'll find out about Calypso? Any theories on whether or not the plan will work out? _


	14. The Gypsy Goddess

**A/N: **_For anyone that's confused, Ezra was the one sending -A messages to Aria. The only real text from -A so far, is the one announcing Ezra's death for impersonating him/her. But now that his actions has awaken the infamous blackmailer from their slumber, what will happen now? _

**Alison's POV**

Who knew a twisted fantasy could be so ... _intoxicating_? The thrill of living on the edge, the adrenaline rush of constantly being on the run and all the dangers involved with being in love with a ruthless _killer_. I watched as she ripped my heart out, permanently engraving her name on it, trailing her finger tips ever so gently up my spine and driving me to the brink of madness. The sadistic smile never left her enthralling features with ecstasy glimmering in her eyes, as she drowned my sorrows, strangled my anxieties, butchered my miseries, mutilated my self-doubts and severed my cantankerous-attitude to an irremediable state. You'd think all of that would be enough to satisfy her rancorous appetite, but she didn't stop until she finally produced her illustrious trademark - stuffing my insides with sheer bliss and carving a Glasgow grin at the corner of my lips, ensuring that I'd have a permanent smile plastered across my face.

If you saw her right now, laying innocently against my chest, watching the TV as I played in her raven hair, you'd never guess that she'd be capable of such villainy. But that's just one of many reasons why she was _my _killer; no one else's. Sometimes I wondered what I did to deserve someone like her; someone who loved me unconditionally against all odds, even if I was one of them. It's thoughts like these that trigger a domino effect, making me think of ways that I can become an even better person for her - until I felt justified enough to be worthy of her love and until I felt less guilty about how I mistreated her in the past. I mean - how often do people find someone that they can love forever, who'd also love them back just as immensely? How often does the one that got away come back? You'd have to be exceptionally ludicrous to pass up on such an unorthodox fortuity.

"What are you thinking about?" Emily asked, squirming under my embrace as she made eye contact with me.

"Mmm," I mumbled against her skin, while planting a kiss on her forehead, "All the fun times we're going to have, since we're _finally_ moving in together."

"Aww, babe. I hope that you won't get tired of seeing me every day," she pouted.

_Ugh, she's too cute for her own good._

"Trust me, it's more likely for Hanna to win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry than that to happen," I chuckled, cupping her face, "Plus - whenever I lay my eyes on you, I feel like ... I'm falling in love all over again."

And the silence between verbalizing my declaration of love and seeing the look of adornment in her eyes as her cheeks became rose-tinted, I felt as if my heart would explode in this very moment. My rib cage expanded, trying to make room for the overflowing arteries which threatened to breach all levees until we ultimately merged, sharing one heartbeat as the strings of our heart played a slow melody for our souls to dance. It was both terrifying and terrific to love someone so deeply.

"If only you knew how long I've been waiting for you to say that," Emily whispered, smiling fervently.

"Well, I'll remind you every day if I have to," I beamed, pressing our lips together.

"Oh, really?" She smiled deviously, pushing me down on the couch and straddling my waist. Her hair tumbled down her shoulders, framing her face into my very own piece of art. _Move along, Mona Lisa! _

"Em, don't start something you can't finish." I smirked tauntingly, wriggling my eyebrows.

Emily discarded her t-shirt in a swift movement, revealing her red lace push-up bra, toned abs, and flawless skin. I closed my eyes briefly, trying to commit this to memory. _Unf, face of an angel, body made for sin. Mmm - the things I'd do to her._

"The last time I checked, you were the tease," she flipped her hair to one side, leaning down to somewhat close the gap between us, "... not me."

The way her voice changed into a sultry tone, as she said those last words, sent involuntary chills down my spine. I wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled her in for some tongue-tied kisses, exploring every corner of her mouth in an erotic duel that would only end in surrender. And to my surprise, I was the first to wave the white flag. We temporarily pulled apart, breathing heavily as we shared a heated glance at each other.

The palpable electricity made my clothes feel unbearably useless - and I guess Emily either felt the same or read my mind, because she didn't hesitate to unbutton my top, kissing every inch of skin being revealed until she reached the last clasp. I slipped out of the blouse and glided my hands along Emily's exposed thighs as she moved her lips to my neck, biting at that one spot that made it hard_ not _to moan. I threw my head back in defeat, revealing more skin for her to delve into.

I felt my bra snap under her skillful hands before she molded her hand around one of my breasts, squeezing gingerly as a gradual throbbing in my lower abdomen mimicked the movement.

_Oh God, this is it. We're finally going to- _

The sudden pull on my pants interrupted my thoughts and my breath hitched in my throat, when I realized that she was removing them. This would be one of many firsts for us. We spent the rest of the evening christening every surface of our new apartment, _over and over again. _

* * *

><p>It was harder than I thought to leave Emily's side this morning. We were both so tired from our activities from the day before, but we still managed to get in a quick round this morning before I left for work. I was so drained of energy, coffee didn't even have an effect on me. Hell, it probably made me feel even sleepier.<p>

"Wow, you look like hell!" Liam complimented, as I walked into my office on the 9th floor.

"Thank you!" I mocked a smile at him, which faded into a genuine one when I remembered _why_ I looked like this way.

"Madison..." he said in a sing-song tone, "what aren't you telling me?"

"What's there to tell, Liam?" I asked rhetorically, moving over to my seat behind the mahogany desk and sitting down like I owned the place. _Which I did. _

"Ohhh, I know that look anywhere!" he clapped his hands together and grinned teasingly, "You totally got some!"

"Some coffee?" I swiveled the paper cup in my hand, "Yup!"

"Yes, but..." he lifted up his index finger, which he had a habit of doing whenever he was making a point, "you also got what comes after someone invites you in for coffee."

"And what would that be?" I smirked indifferently.

"Oh, Maddy, don't play lost with me now," he protested and propped his hands against his hips, shaking his head, "Emily has you smitten!"

I recognized a figure standing at the entrance of my door, arms folded across her chest. Liam turned around, following where my attention now laid.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Rezendes!" Liam greeted, before turning back to me and giving a look that said, _Shit! How long has she been standing there?!_

I shrugged at him, because I was wondering the same thing. It was always entertaining seeing how fast Liam could switch on his professional demeanor, though I wondered how much of our conversation she overheard. _Thank God I didn't give him any details._

"Good Morning to you too, Mr. Boiardo," she responded dryly.

It's so weird hearing someone address him so formally. I almost forgot that his surname sounded like he was the face of_ Chef Boyardee. _

"Well, I'll leave you two alone." Liam said, dismissing himself from the room, "Just give me a buzz me if you need anything, Ms. Darkbloom."

I simply nodded at him.

"Don't forget to lock the door behind you," Mrs. Rezendes commanded, giving me a coquettish grin that didn't go unnoticed. Liam gave me a warning look, before fulfilling her request.

_What the hell is this deranged woman up to?_

"To what do I owe the honor, Kaylee?" I raised an eyebrow at her, as I took another sip of my coffee.

"I believe we have some unfinished business to discuss, Madison" she motioned to sit on the opposite side of my desk.

Oh - right. The ongoing argument between me wanting to invest in Robotics and her wanting to invest in Nanotechnology. _Such a stubborn, persistent being._

"Thank you for jogging my memory, but I'm not changing my mind unless we find some common ground." I stated dismissively.

"I was hoping that you'd say that," she began pulling out some documents from her suitcase, "I have something that you'd be interested in."

I rested my coffee on the desk and scanned over the papers. There were a bunch of diagrams and formulas that I didn't recognize.

"And what exactly am I looking at?" I asked shrewdly.

"The future of Darkbloom Enterprises," she placed both her hands over mine, "it's called an assembler. It's basically a machine that can manipulate atoms and molecules, producing any physical object at will."

I tried pulling my hand away, but she tightened her grip. Even though this sounded like one helluva investment, I was too distracted by her out-of-character behavior which made it hard to be excited. I frowned disapprovingly at her.

"I hope that you know that you're making me feel-" I began revolting.

"Tut-tut," she interrupted, putting a finger to my lips, "enough with the business gibber-gabber. Let's talk about us."

"Us? There's no such thing!" I jerked away from her, failing to keep my voice down, "What's wrong with you? You decide to wait until I'm in a relationship to show interest in me? At least have some respect for me, if you don't have for yourself!"

"Madison!" She shrieked, "I've liked you since we first started this partnership!"

"Well, there's the problem. I've never liked you, at least not in that way." I stated matter-of-factly, as I began packing my things, "my heart has always been in one place and I plan on keeping it that way!"

"Maybe you need a little ... motivation," she attempted to caress my forearms, but I pulled away once again, walking to the door.

"Now why would I throw away a diamond, to pick up a rock?" I shook my head in disgust. "I'm sure you know how to find your way out. Don't let the door hit you, where the good lord split you."

On cue, the door flew opened, almost hitting me, when I was about to turn the knob.

"_BITCH!_" Liam fiercely added, glaring at Kaylee. "Let's go, Madison."

He looped our arms together and dragged me out of the office, leaving Mrs. Rezendes slack-jawed. Once we were at a safe distance, we ruptured in fit of laughter.

"You should have seen her face!" I slapped my knee.

"Trust me, sweetheart, I saw it." Liam mimicked her shocked expression, causing me to laugh even harder.

"Were you listening to entire time?"

"Of course! I saw how she looked at you when I was about to leave the office." he answered, tugging at my blazer, "she looked like she was mentally stripping every piece of clothing you have on."

I cringed at the thought.

"Speaking of clothing," I began changing the topic, while we took the elevator to the underground garage, "I'm thinking about attending the Winter line Premier at the Shockwave Center tomorrow."

"REALLY?" Liam scanned my face, trying to figure out if I was serious or not, "You've never attended one of those, even when they begged you to. What made you change your mind this year?"

"Well ... Emily's friend, Samara, invited her as a date," I answered honestly.

"Ohhh, and you're jealous!" he playfully pushed me as we walked out the garage to my car.

"I just want to see the look on both their faces when I show up," I chuckled menacingly.

"Emily doesn't know you're going to go too?" Liam held a hand against his chest, pretending to be surprised, "you bad girl! Let's get you an outfit that will have both their jaws on the floor."

"I like the way you think!" I grinned as we entered the Nissan GT-R.

* * *

><p>We've only been inside <em>Haute Couture <em>for 30 minutes and I'm almost certain that Liam has already managed to pick out enough dresses for everyone that's probably attending the fricking event. _Jeez Louise!_

"How many of these do I have to try on?" I inquired, looking at the intimidating cluster of clothing.

"All of them, if you have to. Like I said, I want you to drop jaws." he moved his hand in a shooing motion, "Come on, the clothes won't try on themselves."

After around 12 dresses and a bunch of inappropriate comments from Liam, I think I finally found the perfect one.

I looked in the mirror admiringly, twisting at every angle just to be sure. I can't believe how well it fitted every curve of my body. It possessed two of my favorite adjectives: classy and sexy. It was a black long-sleeve, backless dress which stopped mid-thigh and was embroidered with pearls. If this didn't drop jaws, it would only be because you didn't have any.

I walked outside, pretending that I was on a catwalk.

"Work it, girl!" Liam clapped, "I'd totally be straight, if you dressed like that everyday."

"Honey, please." I laughed, "we both know that's highly unlikely."

"Damn, girl. I'm just trying to give you a compliment." he took out his phone, pretending to dial numbers, "Hello, TMZ? Hottie alert in downtown Riverhaven, Pennsylvenia!"

"You are too much!" I threw a nearby pillow at him, "Let me get changed and we'll go for some lunch."

"Good!" Liam wiped the imaginary sweat from his forehead, "I'm starving!"

I went into the changing room, putting back on my normal clothes, before paying for the dress and heading out.

"I'll be in charge of accessories and recruiting the glam squad." Liam stated, looping our hands together again.

"Fine, maybe you should be my stylist too." I teased.

"Oh, I'd be honored!" he responded, putting an extra pep in his step.

"Madison Darkbloom ..." an unfamiliar voice whistled.

I turned to the direction of where it came from, seeing a petite woman leaning against a grey Maserati Alfieri. She wore dark red lipstick, high heeled black boots, ripped skinny jeans and a long-sleeve crop top. Her jet black hair was pin straight with slight curls at the end, which made her tanned skin look as it were glowing along with her golden eyes.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I hesitantly asked, though I'm positive that I've never seen her in my life before.

"No," she confirmed my thoughts, "excuse my manners, my name is Anet Bottai. You don't know me, but I know who you are."

"Let's go, Maddy." Liam requested, tugging my arm.

"Wait a second," I responded to him, before turning my attention back to her, "how do you know who I am?"

"I've had visions about you," she crossed her arms over her chest, "and I'll be of great assistance to you at this time. You're in great danger."

"Oh, so you're a gypsy, huh?" I chuckled, "prove yourself."

She moved closer to me and whispered in my ear, "your real name is Alison DiLaurentis. You're originally from Rosewood, but you moved here after almost being murdered by an unknown person. I'm just saying - this person has risen back and is looking for you again. I can help."

The veins in my blood ran cold at the mention of my name. _How does she know all of this? It's impossible! Only the girls know about this, and I'm almost positive that they haven't told anyone else. _

"Who are you?!" I screeched.

"I already told you, my name is Anet. And no, I'm not a gypsy," she corrected me, "I'm a _Star Child_, if you must know, but I'm sure you don't even know what that is."

_What the hell is a Star Child? She sounds like she needs to be roomies with Calypso._

"I'm nothing like her," she nodded disapprovingly.

_Did she really just read my mind?_

"Yes, I did." She smiled knowingly at me, giving me a piece of paper and winking, "that's my number if you ever want to talk."

And with that, she walked away nonchalantly, leaving me with too many questions and too little answers. I quickly put her number in my phone, saving it under _Psycho_ before walking to the car with Liam. When we got back inside, I sent a text message to Spencer.

_**"Hey, Spence. Please look up an Anet Bottai, whenever you're done with researching Calypso. Thanks! Xx, Ali."**_

I'll probably have her and Hanna interrogate her, when they come over again.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _What do you think Ali has planned about the Shockwave Center Event? Any thoughts on Mrs. Rezendes or Anet Bottai? As I always say, thanks for all the favs/follows/reviews, guize. I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. (: _


	15. Moon & StArs

**A/N: **_Do Calypso and Anet know each other? No. Do they know about each other? Yes. Why? I don't know. Let's find out. Maybe they have more in common than we think. (; To Guest, your theory of Samara being on the -A team is pretty interesting. Who knows? She's going to be a frequent character soon enough and you'll see why. (; To alisondilaurentis96, your reviews always makes me smile. Haha. Emison is indeed endgame. I'd like to take this time to say thank you to IntelligentPrincess and Sashahxlic, for always reviewing. You guys are all awesome! Also, thank you to 95, I'm glad you like the story so far! (: And last but not least, thanks for all the reviews/favs/follows. I hope you enjoy this twisted chapter!_

**Emily's POV**

Camera lights strobed as the sound of a roaring audience drowned out in the background. Reporters and their respective crews scurried down the red carpet, trying to get first dibs on the biggest names in the Fashion, Music and Movie industries. Who would've guessed a small town girl, like me, would be in the same breathing proximity as some of the people held in high esteem by every civilian in this country, much less the world? It felt ... _surreal_. I mean - just looking about 5 feet ahead of me, I could see interviewers swarming around Adriana Lima and Cara Delevingne.

"I feel like such a groupie right now," Samara whispered to me, while we posed for photos.

"Tell me about it." I answered through clenched teeth, simultaneously trying my best to smile for the cameras, "Did you see the dress Naya Rivera has on?"

"All those curvessss and me with no brakessss," Samara hissed, chuckling.

That comment scored an uncontrollable laughing session, which I mentally cursed her for. I knew that probably ruined some of the photos. _Ugh, hopefully they spare me the shame and only post the best pictures online. _

The weird part about all of this was the fact that while we walked away, it seemed as if we were gliding on the floor, almost like lost souls in the spirit realm. _Does this make any sense? _I glanced around, drinking in my surroundings once more, as it literally melted into the claustrophobic entrance of the Shockwave Center, which was jam-packed with journalists scavenging the next big thing.

"Samara Cook, right?" A tall red-haired women inquired in a stentorian tone, holding a recorder in front of her, "Is it true that you're the newest signee of one of Flux Couture's many Fashion Lines?"

Her loud, temerarious attempt of getting information quickly sparked a flash flood of other starving journalists, erupting in a chorus of indistinguishable questions, before Samara had the chance to even answer the first. Luckily for us, two large security guards spontaneously appeared out of thin air, warding them off.

"Let's go, before we get eaten alive by those vultures," Samara stated half-jokingly, dragging me inside.

The interior of the center was - _odd_, in the best way possible, of course. It was so monstrous in size, it appeared as if it had no walls, just towering curtains decorated by the paintings of an endless nebula with Aerial Contortionists hanging freely from the invisible ceiling, dressed as Renaissance Angels. Think Vincent Van Gough's _Starry Night _intersecting Peter Paul Rubens' _Garden of Love_.

Between Samara swiftly maneuvering across the floor and me admiring the decorations, I successfully managed to almost fall on my face.

_Good going, Fields! _my subconscious sneered.

"Oh my gosh!" Samara stopped in her tracks, trying to help me up, "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

"I'm good," I responded dismissively, smoothing out my dress.

It's a surprise I hadn't noticed the details of the floors, until we were _SO_ close to going straight to first base. It was ... _breathtaking!_ I don't know what it was made of, but it looked somewhat like a mirror, reflecting the curtains and angels, giving the impression that you were literally walking on clouds. _Talk about building castles in the sky!_

"Good Evening, may I interest you lovely ladies in some wine?" A waiter wearing a Venetian Phantom of the Opera masquerade mask offered.

"I thought you'd never ask," Samara answered, grabbing two glasses and flashing her signature smile back at him, "Thank you!"

"You're most welcome, beautiful," he winked, turning his grin into a sly smile, before offering wine to more passersby.

"Hmm, someone's a little flirty tonight," I teased, taking the glass that she was extending towards me.

"Is that jealousy I hear, Em Bear?" She rebutted, smirking.

"Oh - don't flatter yourself, Sammy," I answered, taking a sip of the wine, "I'm happily taken."

"Well, Cheerio then!" She held her glass up for an undisclosed toast. A third glass magically appeared in the mix, but strangely, she didn't seem phased by it.

I turned my attention beside me, only to meet hazel eyes staring right back. I felt my knees instantly go weak, when I noticed who they belonged to - _Rihanna!_

"Hey, I don't think we've met before," she greeted charmingly in her thick accent, "I wouldn't forget a pretty face like that."

"H- h- hi!" I stuttered, trying to remember my name, "I'm ... Emily. Emily Fields."

"Well," she looked me up and down, shaking her head in approval. Only God knows what she was actually approving, though, "it's really nice to meet you, Emily Fields." she finally continued, after closely scrutinizing me, pulling into an awkward one-armed hug. I closed my eyes, savoring the moment.

"It's nice to meet you too, Robyn." I replied, giving a face splitting smile when she pulled away - but something ... changed. Actually, _everything_ changed.

When I opened my eyes, I wasn't at the Center anymore. I was back at the dorm, arms length from Samara, releasing her from a hug. _Did I drink too much wine? No, that was only my first glass! _

"W-who's Rab eeen?" She asked unclearly. Her breath was _reeking _of alcohol and her face was flushed.

"Nothing," I shook my head, trying to process everything but my thoughts were too jumbled together. I felt my legs starting to carry me back to my room. _Ugh, thank God I haven't moved everything out as yet. _

"H-h-heyyy! Wheeer argh yeeerrr gerin?" She asked, her words slowly pouring out of her mouth as she staggered, trying to follow. "Waiiiitttttt feeerrr mi!"

I turned around and ended up colliding into my drunken roommate. We stumbled down on the floor, laughing at ... nothing, really. _Why was this suddenly so funny?_

Samara went silent a few moments later. I looked to see what was wrong, only to be met with her lips against mine. A part of me wanted to protest, but my arms flung around her neck, deepening the kiss. _This is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong! Why am I doing this? _

"Samara, I can't do this!" I yelled with slurring words, pushing her away.

"Shhh!" She commanded, clumsily putting a finger to her lips, before leaning back in.

"Emily!" A voice rang out, which I knew only belonged to one person.

"Alison?" I shrieked, shoving off Samara off me and quickly sobering up.

"I knew this would happen!" Ali croaked, "I knew you would do something like this to get back at me!"

"Get back at you for what, Ali?" My voice started cracking, as tears began pricking my eyes, "This is a big misunderstanding!"

"Oh, I think I understand enough," She stormed off towards the door.

"Wait!" I chased after her, but the distance only grew greater. It felt like I was running on a treadmill, because no matter how fast I tried to run, I didn't move an inch from where I was.

_This can't be real! No... it just can't be! I can't lose Ali again. No... please. No! Wake up, wake up, wake up!_

What started off as a dream, soon grew into a nightmare. The ground beneath me spiraled open, swallowing me into another dimension. I was now in a bathroom with black and white tiles and grey walls. The faucet from the sink started pouring profusely. The water was hitting the basin so rapidly, it began splashing out. Each splatter formed into owls fleeing into the walls, except for one, which flew towards me and stopped mid air, hooting.

The hooting started sounding more and more like words, "Dead. Girls. Walking."

_What the hell is that supposed to mean?!_

I ran outside, panicking. The walls of the hallway fell, exposing the outside world. It was night, but the sun was out. My eye lids fluttered for a brief moment, and I could have sworn I saw a woman in a red coat walk pass me, but I was now stuck in a crowd of people in the middle of Time Square.

"Emily! Emilyyy! EMILY!" A distant voice shouted as Earth began shaking.

"EMILY! Wake up!" Ali said, concern now entering her voice.

"Am I still dreaming?" I asked between sobs. Her face finally came into focus when my eyes opened.

She kissed against my forehead, "does this feel like a dream?"

"Oh, Babe..." I sat up, hugging her like my life depended on it. _That nightmare felt way too real. My heart is still severely aching from seeing her walk away from me._

"I'm here, baby. You're okay now." She said softly, rocking me gently from side to side.

"I love you _so much _... P-p-promise me you won't ever leave again!" I pleaded, my voice still cracking while I tried to control my crying.

Ali pulled away a little, cupping my face and looking straight into my eyes, "Listen, I'm not going anywhere, okay? I love you, Em! Nothing is ever going to keep me away from you again. As long as I'm breathing ... I'll be right here."

_Oh, how she always knows exactly what to say to make me feel better._

"I'm lucky to have you," I smiled, tears still falling but they weren't for a sad reason anymore.

"No, I'm the lucky one. You are a blessing!" She returned the smile, pecking me on the lips, "Now, let's fight those nightmares away, babe."

She tossed me over, got on top and started tickling me all over.

"BABE!" I yelled through giggles.

"What?" she stopped, feigning innocence.

"You know what you did!" I playfully accused her.

"No, but I know what I want to do," she said as her eyes turned into a dark blue shade and a menacing smile formed on her face.

I glowered at her suspiciously, "Now I'm not sure if I really woke up, or this is part of the nightmare as well."

"Am I really that bad in bed?" Ali chuckled.

"No, you're good. A little too good, now that I think of it. Are you sure you weren't a porn star?"

Her chuckle grew into a hearty laughter, "Maybe a stripper, but not a porn star."

"Now I'm positive this is a nightmare," I teased, throwing a pillow at her.

"Don't worry, babe. I'll show you some of my moves tomorrow, so save your dollar bills." She winked, pulling me into her embrace, "Let's go back to sleep."

"Fine, Goodnight, Ali." I sighed.

"Goodnight, my love," She kissed the top of my head.

And before we slipped into unconsciousness, we shared another kiss. The rest of my slumber was filled with dreams of us, roaming through the South of France, enjoying each other's presence in serenity. For a moment, I thought I had died and gone to heaven, but then I realized that I am very much alive, and heaven has been brought to me in the form of Alison DiLaurentis.

* * *

><p>"I have a surprise for you," Ali announced as I walked out of the shower, only wearing a towel, trying to dry my hair. I always made sure that I took a shower after doing so many laps in the pool at school.<p>

"Really? When can I see it?" I asked, excitement building up. _I love surprises, well, unless it's a surprise vehicle riding into my house or a black hooded person sneaking around or ... Okay, maybe I'm not a big fan of surprises anymore. _

"You won't only get to see it," She grabbed a large box, handing it to me, "you get to try it on as well."

"What is it?" I shook the box, but it didn't make any sound.

"A strap on ..." Ali smirked.

"Are you serious?!" I arched an eyebrow at her.

"I wish," she chuckled, "take it out and see for yourself, babe."

I opened the box and saw a Versace logo. _What could this possibly be?_

I pulled out it's contents, revealing a sleeveless, sweetheart neckline black dress.

"This is beautiful!" I squealed in joy.

"It's going to look even more beautiful once it's on you." Ali complimented, sitting on the bedroom bench.

"Aww, you're just saying that because you want me to model it, don't you?" I teased.

"Maaaybe..." she simpered, "so, are you going to do it?"

"Trust me, I'm more excited to try it on, than you are to see me in it." I answered, heading back into the bathroom to put it on.

_This must have cost a fortune, because it looks like a million bucks. _

It's a good thing that the bathroom had full length mirrors. I stood in front of them, turning at every angel, getting a good look at the dress. Ali was right, it did look even better once I had it on. The dress stopped immediately above my knee and it had a split on the right side that went all the way up my thigh. The sweetheart neckline definitely accentuated my assets as well, _if you know what I mean. _This made the dress I originally intended to wear look like a washcloth.

I walked out, putting an extra sway in my hips as I modeled it for Ali. When I was done, I noticed her eyes changed to that dark blue color again.

"Well?" I asked, propping my hands on my hips.

"You look ... better than I imagined." She answered, slack-jawed, "you're lucky I have to go to work right now, because - _wow! _That dress was worth every penny."

"Do you really have to leave now?" I sat down on her lap, pouting.

"Mmm," she breathed against my arm, "unfortunately, yes. I have a meeting with Mr. Moretz that I already rescheduled the first time. But that's not even the worst part."

"What's the worst part?" I frowned.

"I won't be back in time to see you before you leave," she gave me puppy dog eyes, "but to make it up to you, I'll have Gregorio chauffeur you and Samara."

_Ugh, Samara. After that nightmare, I don't even want to see her or even go to this event. What if that dream was some premonition? _

"Okay, well, will I get to see you before the night's over?" I pouted even more.

"Of course, babe. Just say my name three times and I'll be here." She grinned.

"Hmm, so you're Bloody Mary now, huh?" I laughed, "Do I need to do that in the dark, in front of a mirror too?"

Ali looked like she was in deep thought for a second, before answering, "Depends. What will you be wearing?"

"You're such a perv, I swear," I playfully pushed her.

"Shut up and give me a kiss," she puckered up.

"Demanding much?" I teased, fulfilling her requests.

It would take an eternity and then some, to describe the feeling I got, whenever our lips locked. I can flip, manipulate and play with the words as much as I wanted to, but it would never do justice to the way our tongues stroked against each other, or the way she tugged against my lower lip, sending electric charges throughout my body, or the way time seemed to ... go backwards to the time we first fell in love. It was that magical.

"Mmm, I hate to cut things short, but I really need to go now, if I don't want to be late," Ali frowned, "I'll see you later, babe."

"You better see me later," I gave a quick peck, before getting up and allowing her to leave.

"I will," she picked up her back and headed to the door, "make sure Samara keeps her hands to herself, because that dress is enough to have anyone feeling some type of way."

"I'll be sure to pass on the message," I threw a pillow at her, but she quickly dodged and ran out the door.

_Now I'm left all alone with my thoughts. Ugh, I'm definitely not drinking tonight. _

The rest of the afternoon went by pretty quickly, since I had to figure out what shoes would be the best match for the dress and what accessories would compliment it. _Who knew that would take so long? _

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

"Hello?" I answered the phone. It was an unknown number.

"Good Evening, Ms. Fields. This is Gregorio calling to let you know that I'll be over in 15 minutes to pick you up." The ever-so formal Gregorio greeted.

"Good Evening to you as well. Thank you. I'll make sure that I'll be outside waiting for you, Gregorio."

"The pleasure is mine, Ms. Fields. See you in a few." he politely answered, before ending the call.

I quickly ran to the bathroom, putting on my finishing touches and taking a picture to send to Ali, since she loved the dress so much.

_**"All for you, babe."**_ I texted her, attaching the photo.

_**"That's going to be my wallpaper. (; Oh, and Liam says to tell you that you look smoking. Have fun, my love!"**_ She replied, almost immediately.

I checked the time, noting that Gregorio was probably waiting for me now. I sent a text to Samara to let her know that we were going to pick her up. She was _SO_ excited when I told her that Ali got us a chauffeur for the night. Though, I still feel awkward about everything, even if it was just a dream. It just felt ... too real.

The ride to the dorm wasn't long, considering the fact that the apartment Ali got wasn't far from campus. Samara was wearing a red dress that she designed herself, of course. Even though it was long, the design showed off a lot of her skin. It looked so good against her skin tone.

_Tsk, tsk, you shouldn't be thinking things like that,_ my subconscious grumbled in disapproval.

We exchanged compliments about each other's dress a long the way, but she was mostly thrilled about mine. Ali was right, I'm positive I'll be getting a lot of attention with this on.

* * *

><p>To my dismay, the red carpet was going exactly like it did in the dream. Thankfully, when we walked inside, the interior actually had walls. The lighting was dim, with the exception of the runway which was heavily decorated with Greek statues, fog machines and a bunch of lighting machines, including black lights. It wasn't nearly as exquisite, but just as classy.<p>

"It's a good thing that we came early," Samara said, while we walked towards the stage, "the best seats are all almost taken."

"Agreed," I nodded at her, taking a seat in the front row, "who knew it would be this crowded, when we're an entire hour early?"

"Sorry if I'm interrupting, but I just have to say that I love your dress!" A squeaky voice said from beside me.

I turned around to see that it was Annasophia Robb.

"Woah, thank you so much! I'm a big fan of yours, by the way." I extended a hand for her to shake.

"And I'm a big fan of your dress," she giggled, pulling me into a hug instead, "nice to meet you ..."

"Emily Fields," I filled in the blanks.

"Emily Fields, you have the makings of a model. Maybe I'll see you going down this catwalk next year." Annasophia complimented.

"You're too sweet," I smiled.

"Hey, would you like to take a picture with me for Instagram, before I go back to my seat?" She asked sweetly.

"Of course!" I answered eagerly, giving my best_ mirror face _as she took the selfie.

"Thanks! It was nice meeting you, Emily. Enjoy the show!" She gave a quick hug, before sitting in the row behind us.

"That dress is doing wonders," Samara teased.

"I know right! Let's see how many people approach me by the end of the night."

"Hmm, maybe you should add me to the list," another voice said, coming from beside me as well. The only difference this time was that I actually knew this voice, and judging by Samara's shocked expression, my suspicions must be right.

I turned around, feeling my jaw drop a thousand times. I don't know which feeling is greater, the surprise overflowing because Ali is actually here right now, or the fact that she looks breathtakingly beautiful. I mean, _Wow! _

"You guys might want to wipe the drool away," Ali smirked.

"Do you own an orphanage too? Because I wanna give you children!" Samara joked.

_Is she seriously going to flirt with my girlfriend right in front of me? _I hit her hand, while grinning at Ali.

"Hmm, as long as they look like you, bombshell," Ali winked.

"You guys have to be kidding me right now," I protested, rolling my eyes.

"Aww," Ali interlocked our fingers and took the seat beside me, "Don't worry, I'm all yours, baby. Samara is looking really good in that dress though."

"Have you seen yourself? I thought I looked good, but you stole the show! Speaking of which, why didn't you tell me that you were coming?" I inquired, now curious.

"The dress wasn't the only surprise I had planned out for you," Ali answered, her now shrank into a sultry whisper, "this isn't the last one either."

Chills ran laps along my spine. _Ugh, she knew how to make everything sound dirty._

We soon fell in light conversation, trying our best not to make Samara feel like a third wheel, before the event started. Frieda Pinto and Alexander Wang walked out, dressed to the nines when it did. They were the hosts for the night, with J. Alexander giving an opening speech. This night was going better than I imagined it would. I wanted every swimsuit that the models wore. They were all so different. Pharrell Williams and Daft Punk performed during the first segment, Charli XCX and Icona Pop performed during the second and Nicki Minaj performed during the third. I mean - you can't beat that.

Ali was being extra touchy-feely, though. I'm not sure if it was because of Samara's presence, or because she was feeling a little ... _you know_.

"I'm sorry I ditched all the past shows. This was magnificent!" Ali admitted to us.

"You've been invited to here before and you didn't show up?" Samara asked in disbelief.

"Not really my scene, but I wanted to surprise Em." She answered honestly, shrugging.

"And I'm thankful for that," I leaned my head against her shoulder.

"Hey, Samara, do you mind if I carry Emily home?" Ali asked, not taking her eyes off of me.

"She's your girlfriend, you shouldn't have to ask me." Samara responded, a little confused.

"Really? I thought we were going to share!" Ali chuckled, scoring a death glare from me and a look of amusement from Samara.

"Well, since you put it that way, I guess you can have her tonight." Samara grinned.

_Seriously, how are they finding this entertaining?_

"Great, because I can't wait to peel that dress off of her," Ali made a low growl, crinkling her nose like she was about to bite me and grabbing my ass.

"Was that really necessary, Ali?" I asked her, trying not to smile but horribly failing.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Em." Ali said, feigning innocence once again, "I'll let Gregorio give you a ride back, bombshell."

"Thanks. I'm in love with the G55, by the way. It's a custom edition, right?" Samara asked.

"Wow, you know about vehicles as well? You're starting to sound even more attractive," Ali teased, "But to answer your question, yes."

"Well, my dad's an Automotive Designer, so I guess you can say that I know a lot."

"Impressive, so I'm guessing he passed on the creativity to you, huh?" Ali smiled.

"Okay, love birds. I believe that's Gregorio right over there." I pointed towards the SUV.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Em. Thanks again, Madison." Samara hugged both of us, before leaving.

"Hmm, she's nice." Ali's smile grew into a devious smirk, "but I believe it's time for us to have some real fun."

"Whatever you say, babe." I answered her, as we walked to Valet Driver who was getting out of Ali's new toy; the GT-R, or whatever she says the name is.

And here I was, thinking the night couldn't get better.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _I apologize for the super long chapter. I just wanted to get this entire event over with, so we can get to the juicy part of the plot. What do you guys think about the nightmare, by the way? Do you think it has any significance? I believe I'll have to change the rating from K+ to M, since Ali and Em's relationship has evolved. Feel free to leave your theories or suggestions in the review section. (; If you haven't noticed, I've changed the Cover Photo for this story. It's a huge hint about the upcoming -A reveal, so check it out if you haven't and let me know what you think. Also, look out for reoccuring themes. I give even BIGGER hints away using those. _


	16. The GrAdy Twins

**A/N: **_Sorry about the late update, I had to do a bunch of research on old films and books that I could incorporate for some -A Tactics. To my American readers, I don't know if you've notice, but I'm a Brit, so I apologize if I use any phrases or words that you're not familiar with. I should take this moment to also mention that this fic is half way through to completion. When we get closer to Chapter 32, I'll release two prologues for two new PLL fics and you'll get to vote on what story you'd like me to continue. They're VERY interesting concepts, so I'm sure you'll love them both, though I'll only be able to go through with one. :\ To alisondilaurentis96, your interpretation of the dream totally had me thinking, haha. You're genius! (; To lolwhut19, I hope you enjoy this update! To IntelligentPrincess, I totally agree with you. We'll find out what's up with Samara very soon! (: And to everyone else that reviewed/fav/followed, thanks sooo much! A special S/O goes to BrittzandTana, you're too awesome! But without further ado, let me introduce to you, "The GrAdy Twins"._

**Alison's POV**

Bruised lips and tousled sheets; poisoned kisses and vicious biting. Do you know what it's like, to get lost in another? Drowning as desire pools in, while the oxygen gets sucked out of your lungs until you both gasp momentarily for air, before avariciously diving back in? Thoughts of the previous night started replaying in my mind, while a new day seeped between my eye lids. I rewound to my favorite parts, slowing down the pace where my libidinous eroticism begged to press play.

My concupiscence stirred in it's rose-petaled bed of fire at the thought of Emily's lips brushing against my skin for the first time, as her fingertips quivered ... up my thighs while I entangled my hands in her raven locks. Her kisses left fiery trails along my neck and collar bone, leaving my lips petitioning for more attention. And when I got it, oh - how her lips caressed my soul in ways I couldn't even fathom ... it was true magic; pure bliss.

The sudden throbbing in my lower abdomen brought me back to the present. I shook my head, scattering these images until they were too far apart to form a complete memory.

_You're such a horndog, _my subconscious teased. _Ugh, I really need to get out of bed._

I glanced over at the digital clock on the nightstand and totally freaked when I saw that we both only had 2 hours to get to our respective locations; Danby University and the Darkbloom Tower. I tried getting out of bed, but Emily pulled me closer in her sleep, shifting her head from her pillow to my bare chest, since we were both still nude. I sighed in defeat, stroking her messy hair gently. It honestly scares me how much I love her. Sometimes I'm afraid that this is all just a big dream and I'll wake up without her by my side. _Crazy, right? _I remember finally achieving all that I have and standing on my balcony thinking, _there should be two of us here_. It felt like ... I had everything, yet nothing at all. If her showing up for an interview that day wasn't destiny, then I don't know what else it could have possibly been.

"I love you, Em." I whispered, kissing the top of her head first and then planting them all over her face.

"Stop it, Samara!" Emily squirmed, scrunching her nose.

"Samara?" I questioned, not trying to hide my distaste. _The hell? I'm trying hard to handle this entire Samara situation, but seriously, this is carrying it to a new level._

"You should see your face!" Emily burst in laughter, fluttering her eyes open and pointing jocosely at me, "you just got Punk'd!"

I mocked a mean look in her direction, which only caused her to laugh even more. _This girl is going to be the death of me._

"Aww, is my baby jealous?" she asked as if she was speaking to an infant, "you are, aren't you?"

I flung my head against the headboard in protest. _Of course I'm jealous! Who wants to hear their girlfriend mumble someone else's name in their sleep? _

"That doesn't look like the face of the same person that wanted to share me last night," Emily teased, poking my stomach, "but just for the record, you're the one holding my heart, so technically, I can't give it to anyone else."

"This is entertaining you, huh?" I turned to meet her eyes, smiling deviously as a vengeful plan crept into my thoughts.

"Of course it is! That's why I did it," she returned the smile innocently, leaning in to give an Eskimo kiss.

_Oh, if only you knew what you were getting yourself into, babe. _

I rolled over on top of her, restraining both her hands above her head using only one of mine and letting my other free hand trace down her neck. Emily briefly closed her eyes, letting out a small gasp.

"Now it's time for me to entertain myself," I mumbled against her neck, biting slightly below her ear, "Mmm, revenge has never tasted so sweet."

"Ali..." she purred my name, shuddering under my touch.

The raspy sound of her voice woke up my concupiscence from it's slumber, causing me to greedily kiss down her neck then licking along her jawline before crashing our lips together. My fingertips slowly moved down the narrow crevice of her toned abs, making Emily arch her body closer to mine. I groaned in her mouth at the feeling of our unclothed body being so close together. _Ugh, this plan is going to torture me as much as it'll torture her. _

I let go of her hands, entangling the now free hand in her hair, deepening the kiss. My tongue encircled the pout of her lips, which she immediately granted entrance. Our tongues began a duel, hot with passion, but I wasn't going to let her dominate it this time. Her hands fell to my waist, moving our bodies to a steady rhythm. When my fingers grazed the beginning V-line of her abdomen, her breath hitched in her throat, causing her to pull away first. _Mission accomplished!_

I propped both hands to the side of her head, staring down at her with my victory smirk. She was still out of breath, staring at me with a confused look. I quickly retreated from the bed and grabbed some clothes.

"ALI!" Emily objected, running her hand through her hair, obviously irritated, "Ugh, thanks to you, I'm going to have blue balls!"

"Blue balls? That doesn't sound good, babe." I chuckled, putting on an oversize T-Shirt, "I hope it's not contagious. You might want to go get that checked out."

"Ha - Ha," she mocked a laugh, finally getting out of the bed as well, "you are totally going to get it!"

And with that, she charged at me. I ran out, trying to lock the door behind me, but she was too strong. I decided that it would only be better to continue running around the apartment, so I did.

"You can run and you can hide, but I'm still going to get you!" Emily yelled jokingly.

When I got into the living room, I hid behind the love seat in a crouching position, holding both my hands in front of my face to muffle the heavy panting.

After a few minutes had passed, I didn't hear any movement. _Where the hell is she? _

Curiosity got the best of me, so I snuck a quick glance of the general area, but I she was no where to be seen.

"Here's Johnny!" Emily screeched as I turned around from scanning the room, almost giving my a fricking heart attack.

"Sweet Hey-Zeús! Do you know how much you scared me just now?" I furrowed my eyebrows, checking my heart to make sure it didn't stop beating.

"I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean to startle you that much, but you totally asked for it." Emily giggled, offering me a hand, "Come on, it's getting late and I'll be grumpy all day, if we don't have breakfast together."

I took her hand and followed her into the kitchen, where I assisted her in making some blueberry pancakes, eggs and sausages. We fell into light conversation, occasionally flirting here and there. Seriously, I'd be super pissed if this is all just a dream. Everything felt too good to be true. You'd never guess how bad my heart wanted to explode when our goodbye kiss turned into a full-on make out session in the parking lot, before Emily got out of the car to go to her classes. _Ugh!_

_Keep it in your pants_, my sub-conscience scolded as I drove off to work.

* * *

><p>After a long morning of monotonous phone calls and tedious meetings, I was definitely looking forward to having lunch with Liam. I took the elevator down to the lobby, where I was going to meet him at the front desk. I took out my phone to send him a text message, but two hands appeared out of an empty office and pulled me in, covering my mouth.<p>

I bit whoever it was, in a knee-jerk reaction.

"Ouch!" a familiar voice wailed.

I quickly flicked on a nearby lamp, illuminating my attacker's face.

"Kaylee?" I shrieked. _What the hell is she doing back here? _

"You know, you have some really sharp teeth," she frowned, looking down at her hand.

"And you have some really stalker-ish techniques," I added, staring in a questioning manner at her, "I don't recall having a reason for you to be here today."

"Oh, but Madison," she approached suggestively, putting a hand on my shoulder, "we can make a reason, right here ... right now."

"They say persistence is the key, but you're trying it on the wrong door, honey." I laughed mockingly, earning a hurt expression from her, "what would your husband think, if he saw you right now?"

_Like, really. Why do people feel the need to suddenly be interested in you, as soon as you're in a relationship?_

"Don't be like that, Mady Pooh," she moved her hand to my face, "what he doesn't know, won't hurt him."

"Mady Pooth? You are seriously deranged, Mrs. Rezendes." I stated dismissively, walking out the door and calling security to escort her out.

I waited in the lobby, just to make sure that she was gone before I left.

"What happened to her?" Liam stood beside me, swirling a straw in his drink and curling the corner of his lip in disgust at the scene.

"She tried to make a move on me," I shrugged.

"Really?" he squealed, looking at me in disbelief.

"Yeah, she was trying to be all smooth, talking in a seductive voice about what her husband doesn't know, won't hurt him," I answered.

"Ew! Such a slut bag," Liam cringed, "and those saggy tits really aren't helping her case."

"Well, she is like ... 150 years old," I chuckled.

"Maybe she'll look better after a couple of beers," he nudged against me, "what do you say?"

"Have you not seen my beautiful girlfriend?" I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I'm only kidding, silly," he bantered, "Emily is a dreamboat down the Seine River in the evening. I don't know what she sees in someone like you."

"Pish, posh. Don't you see all of this lush goodness?" I twirled around, jokingly.

"Oh, sweetie, I've seen enough." Liam giggled wholeheartedly, "I'm too hungry to put up with this right now."

"To the nearest Café, we go!" I linked our arms at the elbow and headed outside, where Gregorio patiently waited.

* * *

><p>As I entered the apartment, my phone started ringing. I closed the door and checked who was calling.<p>

**Incoming call from: **_**Psycho**_

_What the ...?_

"How did you get my number?" I answered, without bothering to greet her.

"Hello to you too, Madison ... or should I say, Alison." Anet sarcastically replied, "Don't you remember? You slipped me your number, after commenting on how cute my outfit looked."

"Surely that's how it went," I scoffed, rolling my eyes, "Now, tell me how you really got it."

"Don't roll your eyes at me, young lady," she teased, "I don't think you know how this ... _psychic thing_ works."

"Oh, I'm sorry." I mocked, " Did you conjure up the devil and ask him for it?"

"Look, Alison. I didn't call you just for the hell of it," Anet stated dryly, "your friends are in grave danger. That sociopath is about to give them a rude awakening tomorrow and you need to warn them."

The blood in my veins ran cold. _What if she was right? I mean, she's hasn't been wrong about anything so far._

"Where were you 4 years ago, when I needed someone like you?" I asked skeptically.

"It doesn't work that way. I only started having visions of you a year ago and my spirit guides informed me that it was time to finally step in to help you." She justified, "I'm not sure if you think that your skepticism is actually worth your friends lives, but I'm just doing my job."

_You can't be too careful,_ my sub-conscience tried reasoning with me.

I sighed in defeat, "Thanks for the heads up, Anet. I'll do my best to keep them safe."

"Good!" she said, humour now entering her voice again, "Oh, and you might want to change my name from Psycho in your phone contacts. If you're not going to save me under my actual name, at least save me as _Sexy_."

"Are you serious?" I chuckled at her cockiness.

"Don't you see all of this lush goodness?" She mimicked the question I asked Liam earlier today.

"Talk about creepy! If I didn't know any better, I'd think you're some kind of freaky stalker."

"That would make a lot of sense, you know." She stated in a jest tone, "But, I don't think you need a second stalker. Mrs. Rezendes is already doing one helluva job, don't cha think?"

"Okay, creeper ... I'll talk to you some other time, I guess. Apparently some crazy hotline psychic said that I need to warn my friends of the pending apocalypse."

"Hah, funny! Bye, Alison." Anet said in a sarcastic tone, before I ended the call.

"Weirdo..."I whispered, making circles in the air beside my head with my index finger and dialing Hanna's number with my free hand.

"Ali?" Hanna answered after 3 rings.

"Hey, Han. Promise me you won't think I'm weird, after I say what I'm about to!" I pleaded. _Because this is going to sound really insane._

"What? Did you magically get Emily pregnant somehow?" Hanna asked in all seriousness, without the slightest trace of humor.

"Noooo...," I laughed, "But before I explain, let me add Spencer to the conversation."

I dialed Spencer's number, adding her to the phone call.

"Hey, Alison. What's up?" Spencer answered.

"Hi, Spence!" Hanna quickly greeted, before I could answer, "Welcome to the Darkbloom Conference."

"Shut up, Hanna." I joked, "Spencer, remember when I asked you to research a girl by the name of Anet Bottai?"

"Yeah, I remember." She confirmed.

"Okay, well. The reason I called you guys is because she's sort of ... psychic," I paused to hear their reactions, but they remained quiet, so I decided to continue, "Anyway, she called me a few minutes ago to let me warn you guys that -A is going to try and harm you guys tomorrow. I know, I know - it sounds crazy, but I really don't want to take any chances."

"Judging by the information that I've gathered on her, I'd trust her ... _predictions_. What do you want to do about it, though?" Spencer inquired.

"Exactly what have you learnt about her?" I inquired, "I was thinking that you guys could stay over at my house until everything is safe again."

"I'm in. Aria and I can come over tonight." Hanna butted in, "We'll bring Jake and Caleb as well. But yeah, Spence. What have you found out about her?"

"It's too much to say over the phone. I'll bring everything over tomorrow. Barth and Caleb are actually really good partners for all this research." Spencer replied, "But - I have a history exam in the morning, so I probably won't be able to come over until the afternoon."

"Sure, that's acceptable. Just promise me that you'll be safe, ok?" I beseeched, "Make sure that you bring Toby as well."

"Yeah, I'll be really cautious. Don't worry, guys." Spencer stated dismissively.

"Good luck on your exam, Spence. I have classes tomorrow, but I'm SO glad that I have a reason to ditch." Hanna giggled, "I'm sure Aria will be happy too."

"Yeah, because someone trying to kill you is totally a reason to celebrate ditching school." Spencer laughed lightly.

"You guys are idiots," I teased, "Text me before you leave, Hanna. I'll call Emily now and talk to you guys later."

"Bye, Ali!" They said in unison, before I ended the call.

_Now, how can I explain this to Emily without getting too worried? _

I sighed, finally building the courage to dial her number. I told her that we would be going back to the house, instead of the apartment. When I picked her up from school, we spent the long drive discussing everything about Anet and her eerie predictions. Surprisingly, Emily was actually really interested in the entire ordeal, begging me to let her meet my "Guardian Angel", as she referred to her. _Great, now I have a business partner that's a stalker and a weirdo as a "Guardian Angel". Seriously, how much better can this get? _

* * *

><p>Hanna, Aria, Jake and Caleb arrived really late last night; about 11:30 PM. We all agreed that we wouldn't talk about anything -A related, until Spencer and Toby arrived, so we just watched some movies and caught up with everything that's going on in everyone's lives since we last saw each other. Of course Em and I didn't mention the advancement in our relationship, because Hanna would definitely flip, though she kept on teasing us about <em>"all the sexual tension" <em>between us. _Tsk Tsk._

Leave it up to Hastings to keep up their end of the bargain. Spencer and Toby arrived around 1 PM. Toby looked a little ... uneasy when he first saw me.

"Back from the dead already, Ali?" He grinned widely and yanked me into a bear hug, when he got into the kitchen, where we were preparing lunch.

"Well," I pulled away a bit, arms length, "The Devil got tired of me terrorizing all the circles of his inferno, so he sent me back."

"Looks like someone's still a Queen Bee," he chuckled, turning around to admire the decor, "Nice house by the way! Looks like good ol' Lucifer gave you the winning lottery numbers as well."

"Hush," I joked, putting an index finger to my lips, "I don't want anyone to find out."

"Shut up, Ali," Spencer walked in with a bunch of posters and a suitcase.

"Aw, I missed you too, Spence." I greeted, a bit sarcastic, though it was slightly true, "what's up with all of ... that?" I gestured towards everything that she was now laying down on the breakfast nook, after leaving the suitcase opened on one of the bar stools.

"Yeah, is that everything?" Caleb asked, walking over from the balcony, using one of the kitchen towels to wipe his hands.

Being the gentlemen that they were, Jake and Caleb volunteered to BBQ. So, the girls and I helped in getting the beans, the meats, the salads, the beers—the works, before Spencer and Toby came over.

I hovered above Spencer's shoulder, scanning at all that she was neatly organizing. It was a bunch of diagrams, pictures with weird symbols and pages and pages of information.

"This should be everything!" she answered as she was done, "All we need to know about Calypso and Anet are right here. You might be surprised at some of this stuff, though. I know I certainly was."

"Guys, come check this out!" I yelled to the girls on the balcony. They were talking to Jake as he monitored the searing grill that overlooked the pool.

"Oh, hey, Spence! I didn't know you were here already," Hanna greeted from the French doors, Emily and Aria trailing behind.

"Hey, guys. We got here like 5 minutes ago, don't worry." Spencer smiled, "So, would you like me to explain?" she asked, directing the question mostly to me.

"Yeah, go ahead," I encircled my arms around Emily's waist, whom was now standing beside me.

"Okay... I'll start with Calypso." She pointed towards the data on left half of the breakfast nook, "First of all, she doesn't really have Dissociative Identity Disorder. She's never even been diagnosed with any personality disorders in her life before, contrary to what she said."

"But - what the?" Aria furrowed her eyebrows in evident confusion, crossing her arms in front of her, "something has to be wrong with her, though. She was acting so cray cray!"

"Actually, she has a substantial degree in Theatre." Spencer corrected, "which brings me to my next area of concern. Her parents are Enzo Maykis and Stephanie Țepeș-Dracul, also known as the founding families of the Order of the Dragon."

"Dracul as in ... Dracula?" Hanna arched an eyebrow at Spencer, "you're trying to tell us that Calypso is some kind of vampire?"

"Actually, you're right about something." Spencer continued, "her mother is a descendant of Vlad Dracul, but no, there's no such things as vampires, Han. The reason I'm saying this is because I was going through all the branches of this order, and I came across this." she pointed down at one of the diagrams.

I looked over and I literally felt like I forgot how to breath. _The Athena Organization was a branch as well._

"If you didn't tell us about the Athena Organization, I would've totally missed this crucial clue." Spencer indirectly thanked.

"Why would Calypso lie about being crazy?" I pinched my nose, trying to put together the pieces, "this doesn't make any sense. Does this mean that she's apart of the -A team?"

Emily silently rubbed against my back, trying to calm me down.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't give her the benefit of the doubt," Spencer answered.

"Is that all?" I sighed, "what did you find out about Anet?"

"Yes, that's all we've gathered about Calypso so far, apart from contact information and work history, but those aren't really that important at the moment," she replied, "Now, Anet! This is where it gets really interesting."

Spencer moved Calypso's information aside and made more room for Anet's report.

"What's with all the weird symbols, Spence?" Emily asked, obviously still intrigued about Anet's supernatural persona.

"It looks like a bunch of witchy stuff," Hanna added.

"That's because it is," Spencer smiled widely, excitement gleaming in her eyes.

_This sounds like it's going to be good, _I thought to myself, smiling because Emily edged closer into my embrace, at the sound of the word _'witch'._

"For starters, Anet's family originated in the North of India, only recently moving across the UK three decades ago." Spencer began explaining, "There's this huge myth surrounding her family back in London, stating that they're descendants of Cassandra, daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, who were blessed with the gift of Clairvoyance and cursed so that everyone would be skeptical about their visions."

"That would explain why I always think that she's talking out of her ass," I chuckled.

"Did you get a video of one of their rituals or something?" Emily pointed to a disk that poked out of one of the pockets of Spencer's suitcase.

"No ...," Spencer took out the disk, "I've never seen this before. Did you put this in here Toby?"

"Beats me," he shrugged, "it's the first time that I've seen it as well."

"Hmm, it isn't even labeled." Spencer said, examining the disk, "let me put it in my laptop and see what happens."

"Are you sure it's not one of your sex tapes?" Hanna teased, wriggling her eyebrows.

"Han!" Aria elbowed Hanna in her stomach, earning a death glare from the blonde.

Spencer slipped the desk into her MacBook and waited for the system to detect it. I pulled Emily closer, kissing her shoulder. I felt a bit nervous and I really didn't know why. Hanna, Aria, Caleb and Toby moved closer to the screen as a video started playing.

A scene faded in, flickering between a long hallway with walls smeared with blood and back to it's normal, clean state, until twin girls appeared on the screen, holding hands. The camera zoomed into their faces as they started saying _'Come play with us, come play with us, come play with us!' _in unison. They're voice raised every time they repeated it, until it was a high pitched screech, causing us to cover our ears.

The scene then went black again, fading into a new one after a few moments. Someone in a red coat walked towards the camera with an axe in their hands. Their face was dark, like they had a black mask on.

"Come out, come out ... wherever you are," a modified voice hoarsely taunted, "Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in. Not by the hair on your chinny, chin, chin. Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow you're house in! ... Just ask Emily. Look how easy it was to get this personally delivered. I may not know where you all are hiding, but when I do, you'll all wish that you were dead too."

The video ended.

"Well that was rude," Hanna bit her lip in vexation.

"And terribly poetic," Caleb added dryly, "who quotes the Three Little Pigs, anyway?"

"Stephen King," Spencer answered.

_Of course Spencer had an answer for an obviously rhetorical question._

"I don't know about you guys, but I think we should get Anet in on this. Maybe she can help somehow," Aria suggested.

"Yeah, I agree," Emily nodded.

"I'll send her a message, then." I took out my phone, "Even though I'm sure she already knows I'm about to text her."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _If you're wondering what "concupiscence" means, it's basically the character's sex drive/sexual conscience; very similar to Anatasia's "Summer Goddess" from the 50 Shades Trilogy. I thought it would be easier to express how the character is feeling, using this writing technique. But on other news, am I the only one that loves Liam? Any thoughts on Anet or Mrs. Rezendes? Or do you have any theories from the video that -A sent?_


	17. 777

**A/N: **_Oh, no! The writer's block has returned. Nothing's going to stop this party boat though. To Intelligent Princess, I'm so jealous that you have a friend like Liam! Hopefully I'll be so lucky one day. Haha, Kaylee ... she's not going to be a big part of the story, but she will cause quiet a bit of drama. (; I'm glad you're liking Anet, because I basically gave her my actual personality, so it's really easy to write for her, haha but shh, our secret! To alisondilaurentis96, don't worry, Anet is just a natural flirt. LOL. I'm glad I already have your support on the future fics. (: I can't wait for you to read them. To isapieterse, maybe Samara will get another girl soon, who knows? Maybe even sooner than you think. Haha. We'll see. ;P To lolwhut19, I totally agree, I was cracking up just writing it. He's awesome. (: Thanks to BrittzandTana and everyone who reviewed/fav./followed, trust me, it means a lot!_

**Emily's POV**

Anet was set to arrive any minute now and I could feel the zeal running in my blood stream, while we waited in anticipation. I've always been interested in the supernatural, due to my love of horror films, and so far, I've literally been living in one since -A entered our lives. Though, things were a lot better now that Ali and I started dating officially. I once read a quote that stated_ if you can perfectly articulate in words, your love for someone, then you love them not at all_, at least not in the truest sense.

During the first few days of our relationship, I felt as if Ali embodied everything I loved about the world, but now I realize that ... I only loved those things because I saw a piece of her in each of them. She was -_ is_, my world; my safe haven. Maybe it's just the old me shining through, but I'd follow her to the beginning of creation, just to relive my favorite moments with her. Several moons could eclipse together at her touch, warm tides of the bluest oceans could form her eyes, hell - even galaxies could collapse at the curve of her lips, creating black holes which briskly suck me into the allure that is her, and yet ... those intricate illustrations still couldn't do justice to what I feel constantly growing within my heart.

_So, why did I dream about Samara? _

The question plagued my mind for a while, until I remembered that Samara suggested for me to use _Dream Dictionaries_ to let me have a better understanding of my subconscious mind, during it's REM stage. I pulled out my phone, searching Google for the perfect- _Oh, this looks like a good website. _I thought to myself as I opened the link, revealing a search engine for dreams, nightmares and terrors.

"What are you doing?" Ali inquired, brushing a stray lock of hair behind my ears.

I was sitting in her lap on one of the bar stools in the kitchen. She refused to let me out her embrace ever since Spencer came over, but I can't deny that I found it kind of cute.

"Just doing some of my own research," I answered, sotto voce; giving a brief kiss on her cheek before turning my attention back to the screen.

"That's all I'm going to get?" Ali pouted, feigning disappointment although her lips twitched, clearly fighting the urge to fade into her signature smirk.

I rolled my eyes, chuckling at the sight. _Who can say no to that face?_

I laid my phone on top of the breakfast nook beside me and proceeded to place my hands around Ali's neck, leaning in for a kiss but pulling away whenever she leaned in too. I mean, why should I make this easy for her?

"Ugh, you're such a tease!" she complained, giving me puppy dog eyes.

"Now you know how it feels," I stated matter-of-factly, finally allowing our lips to meet.

The kiss started off slow, quickly growing heated. Ali's hands wandered under my T-shirt, drawing patterns along my spine, sending shockwaves throughout my body. I wanted it to be chaste and sweet, but Ali totally attacked my face in a heated exchange. Jeez, she's seriously been so hot to trot, since we took this relationship to the next level. Though I'm not complaining; the lovemaking was nothing short of _mind-blowingly _awe-inspiring.

"Woah, and here I was, thinking that I'd never get to see _Girls Gone Wild _live and in full effect!" Caleb snickered.

"Tell me about it," Toby jocosely added, "Jake, you're missing out on all the action!"

I quickly pulled away, before Jake had the chance to walk in, even though I wasn't sure if he even heard Toby. Ali glared at both the guys, not bothering to hide her blatant irritation.

"Nothing like a good ol' threat from -A, to get things steaming between you two," Spencer continued the teasing, laughing along with Aria and Hanna, while Caleb and Toby tried to mask their grins.

"Don't listen to them, babe." I cupped Ali's face, giving her a soft peck on the lips. Her irritated expression melted into one of adornment, "we can continue this later, when we don't have idiotic spectators giving a play by play of the tongue action."

"Hey, I heard that!" Toby protested, a grin still plastered widely across his face.

"I'll hold you to that," Ali said, smiling warmly at me, ignoring Toby's complaint.

"You guys are so cute, I feel like puking," Hanna joked, pretending to put a finger down her throat.

"Be careful, Hanna. We don't want a relapse," Aria warned, smiling menacingly.

_OH NO! Did she really just say that?_

All of our eyes shifted between Aria and Hanna. The atmosphere grew thick with every tick of the clock, as their staring contest became unbearable to watch. The sudden _ding! _of the doorbell made all of us jump out of our skins a little, causing Hanna to burst in a fit of laughter as she broke eye contact.

"That wasn't nice, Aria," Spencer scolded.

"It's okay, guys. I know she was only kidding." Hanna managed to choke out between giggles, "Tough crowd!"

"I know right!" Aria nodded in agreement, chuckling at our shocked expressions, "I'll get the door."

We heard distant voices talking, before Aria surfaced with Anet. She was about a few inches taller than Aria, tanned skin with long, jet black hair that seamlessly cascaded down her shoulders. She definitely dressed how I imagined a modern day witch would; faux-leather skinny jeans, high-heeled boots and a very fitted, three-quarter sleeved blouse—all black everything, complimented by a gold, Celtic moon necklace.

"Hey, Em..." Hanna nudged beside me, whispering, "are you sure you and Maya didn't have a love child? Because, woah there!"

I scanned Anet's face as she walked in, taking note of her features. She definitely had an eerie resemblance of Maya and I; almost a perfect combination of our DNA's.

"No, that's not even physically possible." I laughed, trying to keep my voice down to avoid questions from Ali, "it's probably just a coincidence."

"Guys, meet Anet," Aria gestured towards her, pretending that she was a huge prize to be won.

I stood up to set Ali free. She walked over to give Anet a hug, before giving her formal introductions to us, even though I'm pretty sure she knows exactly who we were.

Ali turned around, pointing at each of us, "Anet- that's Toby, Caleb-"

"Spencer the intellect, Hanna the fashionista, Emily the raven-haired beauty," Anet interrupted Ali, winking at me when she said my name, before continuing, "And Jake the Karate Master, whose still stuck at the grill on the balcony."

"Right..." Ali warily confirmed, "that's super creepy, by the way."

"I can't help it," she put her hands up in the air, as if being accused of something.

"What about me?" Aria asked, "Don't I get a cool nickname too?"

"No... but you can call me Dora." Anet answered, flashing a ravishing smile at her.

_Dora? What the hell?_ We exchanged confused looks.

"But isn't your name Anet?" Aria quirked an eyebrow.

"I mean, sure..." She put a hand on Aria's shoulder, "you can call me that after I'm done exploring you."

"Oh, shit! I need to write down that line," Caleb stated, taking out his phone. Hanna rolled her eyes and hit him against his arm.

"Anet, stop hitting on my friends and help me," Ali said, pulling her away from Aria, who was still at a lost for words.

"You sure have a way with words," I teased, when Ali brought her over to the breakfast nook filled with Spencer's research.

"And you are such a perfect arrangement of atoms," she winked.

_Wow, ever the smooth talker. I'm not sure if I should feel flattered or ... worried. _

"Okay, cheese ball. You see her?" Ali rolled her eyes, pointing to me, "she's my girlfriend, so that means she's off limits."

"I know who she is," Anet rebutted, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I'm only giving her a compliment. Anyone with eyes can see that she is stunning."

"True," Hanna agreed, "even I'd date her and I'm pretty straight."

_When did I become such a hot commodity? _I kept quiet, wishing the awkward atmosphere would shift to a more pleasant one.

"I see you guys did some research on me," Anet observed, looking over the papers, "Now you know why I said that Calypso's nothing like me."

"You knew that she was a phony all along?" Spencer furrowed her eyebrows.

"A bloody brilliant phony, if I do say so myself," she rebutted, turning her attention to Spencer, "I didn't mention it when I first met Alison, because I didn't feel the need to. I knew that you'd eventually bring the information to her."

"So, you really are a ... psychic, witch, huh?" Aria asked after finding her voice again.

"No..." she chuckled, tracing over the weird symbols, "I'm a zombie!"

Anet began making zombie noises, with an occasional mention of _BRAINNNSSSS! _here and there. I couldn't help but to laugh at her careless antics. She was quiet entertaining to watch.

"Please," Hanna interjected, "the only zombie I know about, is Ali."

"It's true!" Toby chuckled.

I was holding onto my stomach, which was now hurting, due to excessive laughter.

"Okay, guys. Can we make fun of someone else now?" Ali protested.

_She's too cute, when she's upset!_

"Isn't there something that you want to show me?" Anet asked, after the laughing died down.

Ali grabbed Spencer's laptop without saying anything, turning the screen to face her before hitting the play button.

_Ugh, this video was dreadful to watch the first time and now I have to witness a second time. What devious plan did -A have now? I really hope that we find -A, before he/she finds us._

When the video was over, everyone turned their attention back to Anet. She was silent for a while, and then suddenly, she did this thing that I've only seen on _That's So Raven_. She turned her swiftly turned her head to stare in thin air, widening her eyes and going into some sort of trance.

"Earth to Anet," Ali waved her hands in front of her eyes.

She broke out of her trance as quick as she went into it, laughing.

_What the hell? _

"Gotcha!" she exclaimed.

"You were kidding all this while?" Spencer face palmed herself.

"That wasn't funny," Hanna said further.

"In my defense, I really did have a vision," Anet explained, "I only did the trance thing for a dramatic effect. Jeez."

"So, what exactly did you see?" I asked her, arching an eyebrow.

"I say that psychopath..." she answered under her breath.

"YOU SAW -A?" Ali asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Anet responded, now taking on a serious tone, "and if you'd be able to get a sketch artist here, I'd be more than happy to describe her."

"So, let me get this straight. -A's a girl?" Spencer clarified.

"A woman," she corrected, "I'd say she's in her mid 30's."

"Who the hell could that be?" Ali asked rhetorically, mostly directing the question to herself, "I'll call someone over right now."

"That's not all," Anet placed her hand on Ali's shoulder, "I'm sensing that this -A person has blood ties to someone within this room."

Everyone went mute; we stared at her in pure horror. _All this time, -A has been someone we probably know? Someone we probably confided in? I don't even know how we should feel about this. I don't even know how I feel about this, much less._

"Hey, the steaks and sausages are ready," Jake walked in cheerily, breaking the silence.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry," Hanna announced, walking out to the balcony.

"I'll be out there as soon as I'm done with this call," Ali said, dialing a Sketch Artist's number, I assume.

I waited in the kitchen for her, while everyone else vacated to the balcony. We tried really hard to resume a normal conversation, but I'm sure I'm not the only one left with more questions than answers now. I honestly just want this to be over soon, so that we can finally live normal lives.

* * *

><p>The BBQ was a really good idea. Jake and the guys were excellent chefs; everything was finger licking good. While everyone talked about absolutely nothing, I took out my phone and resumed my research on my odd dream. I addressed my main concern first, which was the fact that I actually kissed Samara back. <em>That would be cheating, right?<em>

I typed it into the search engine and the website immediately spewed out information:

'Cheating dreams reflect the intensity of your sexual passion; you are exploring areas of your sexuality. Most likely, such a dream represents the newness of your sexual passion.'

_Okay, that would explain it, since Ali and I recently started having sex. But what about that weird Owl? _

'An owl is synonymous with death, darkness and the subconscious. To hear the hoot of an owl in your dream symbolizes disappointments and death.'

_Disappointments AND death?_ I quickly closed the browser and put my phone away. _Ugh, I really don't need anymore deaths in my life, anytime soon. _

"Don't worry about that dream, Emily." Anet whispered to me, as I was seated between her and Ali at one of the many Patio tables, "I know I'm a bit of a jokester and it's probably hard to trust me right now, but I promise that I won't let anyone hurt you guys."

Goosebumps appeared all over my arms and a coolness ran through my body, while she talked.

"Thanks," I whispered back sheepishly, "I think it's going to take a while for me to get used to your ... psychic abilities."

"Speaking of which, the Sketch Artist will ring the door bell in 1, 2..." her voice trailed off and the sound of a _ding!_ echoed through the air.

"You are sooooo weird." I laughed, getting up to walk back into the house.

"That must be the Sketch Artist!" Ali piped up, following me inside and taking my hand in hers.

"It is," Anet confirmed, as she followed suit.

Ali opened the door for Mr. Gedaminsky, the Sketch Artist, and ushered us into the living room, where all our friends waited. He was a pretty old man. He had patches of long grey hair scattered over his bald head and a grey beard with natural black streaks. He wore very thick bifocals and dressed as if he came straight here after a church procession.

"Well, let's get started," he announced as he sat opposite of Anet.

She began describing the woman that she saw in her vision and I tried really hard to match the descriptions to anyone that I knew. Blonde hair, green eyes, thin rounded eyebrows with a high arch, a small pointed nose and porcelain skin.

"Ms. Bottai, can you verify if this is the person that you described?" Mr. Gedaminsky handed his sketch book to Anet.

"Can you please give me your pencil?" she requested and he quickly passed it to her as well.

I watched as Anet began scribbling over the drawing for a while, "okay, this is perfect. Thank you for your time, Mr. Gedaminsky."

"It was a pleasure. If any of you need my services in the future, you know my number," he said, before leaving.

"Can we see it?" I asked her, curiosity taking over. I tried my best to envision the woman that she described, but it didn't ring any bells.

"Sure," Anet turned the sketch towards us and we crowded around it.

I couldn't help but notice that she borrowed the pencil only to scribble _'Douche' _on the edge.

"I've never seen this woman in my life," Ali said, still staring at the picture.

"Me neither," Aria added, "I don't understand why she would want to make our lives living hell, if we've never met her before."

Hanna threw her hands in the air, before running them through her hair in frustration, "it's like, as soon as we get some kind of lead, it only leads us to a dead end."

"I share your sentiments," I agreed.

"Wait a second," Spencer took the sketch out of Anet's hands, "if one of us is related to her, wouldn't we have something in common?"

"Yes. You're on to something, Spence!" Hanna looked at the sketch again, taking it from Spencer, "let's put it beside everyone's faces and see if we can point out similarities."

Hanna tested her theory, but only found very minor similarities with Aria and Spencer. The woman had Spencer's jaw and cheekbones, but Aria's eyes and eyebrows as well. _Did that mean anything? Or is it just a coincidence? _Whatever it was, we simply shook it off, discussing possible reasons as to why she would want to harm us.

* * *

><p>Later that night, we all sat in pairs, excluding Anet who sat on the floor right in front of the flat-screen TV. I'm almost positive that wasn't good for her eye sight, but she insisted that she'd been doing it since she was a child and still manage to have 2020 vision. I had my arms around Ali's waist and she was leaning on her head against my chest, while flipping through channels for something to watch.

"Breaking News," a news anchor interrupted, "we are receiving information from the Riverhaven Police Department, that the body an unidentified man, around the age of 26, was found in Gnome Woodland a few minutes ago with a gunshot wound to his head. They have motive to believe that this was a murder. Officers are urging that if anyone has information, please contact your local Riverhaven Police Station."

"Oh my God," Aria covered her mouth, "that must be Ezra!"

"Are you sure?" Jake asked, concern evident in his voice.

"I found Aria's cellphone around Gnome Woodland," Spencer said, turning her attention to the petite brunette.

"What if they find his phone too?" Aria began panicking, "I'm probably the last person that he texted that night. They'll want to question me!"

"Aria, you have a good alibi." I tried calming her down, "you didn't even make it to that restaurant that night."

"Yeah, and you were probably already in the hospital when he died," Ali added.

"We were all with you, babe," Jake massaged his hands into her shoulder, "they can question you, but they can't turn you into a suspect."

"And if it gets too serious, I can get my parents to defend you." Spencer said, "you know that they're the best in the state."

"You'd really do that for me, Spence?" Aria asked weakly, her eyes filled with tears.

"Of course, Ar. That's what friends are for," Spencer answered.

The sudden ring of my phone startled everyone. I checked the caller ID to see if I should dismiss the call or not.

**Incoming call from **_**Samara**_

_Hmm, this must be important. She doesn't usually call me. _I thought to myself, frowning.

"Hello?" I quickly answered.

"EMILY!" She yelled, sounding out of breath, "SOMEONE BROKE INTO THE DORM!"

"What? Are you okay?" I asked, a bit shocked.

"Well, considering the fact that they tried to bloody ax me in my sleep, I'd say that I'm doing pretty damn well now!"

I looked up at everyone, feeling the color drain from my face. Ali mouthed, "what's wrong?" to me.

"Samara, where you you?"

"I'm trying my best to run to the parking lot. That maniac managed to get a good swing at my right thigh, before I kicked him in the balls and ran down the fire escape, so I'm losing a bit of blood."

"Are you sure that you can drive? Did you call the cops? Please get to somewhere safe and I'll pick you up!" I asked, my questions stumbling over each other.

"I called the cops, but I'm not waiting on those bastards. I'd probably be dead if I did." she answered, straining her words out, "I'm sure that I can drive wherever."

"Ali, someone broke into Samara's dorm and tried to ax her!" I covered the mouth of the phone and whispered to her.

"What! Do you think that it's -A?" she asked, obviously feeling the same concern as me.

"No, it's one of her minions," Anet answered, "that psychopath thought Emily was going to be there. She needs to get off campus ASAP!"

"Tell her to come over here," Ali demanded, leaning her head into her hands, "Ugh, this is all my fault! I should have brought her here too!"

"Samara, I'll text you Ali's address. You have to come over here and fast!"

_Just when I thought this day couldn't get worst. Now, Samara almost died, because of me. Who knew -A would go this far?_

* * *

><p><strong>P.S.<strong> | _There isn't enough Emison fics in the world, to satisfy/quench my feels! On another note, I would love if someone would volunteer to be my muse. Haha. I need someone who wants to talk with me through my writer's block and discuss future chapters. :$ Feel free to PM me, if you're interested._ _Also, thanks for all the reviews/favs/follow, once again. They really motivate me to continue writing. _


	18. The Mark of -A(thena)

**A/N: **_I have 3 muses, mates! Be Jealous. I know I've been off on my updating schedule, but I had a huge exam to study for. No worries, though. I'll try my best to get back on track. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/fav./followed since the last chapter; it really helps me break out of this writer's block I'm currently experiencing. I've also came up with a bunch of new gadgets for the following chapter, so I'm really excited for you guys to read about them. Special thank you's will be at the end of this. (; Enjoy!_

**Alison's POV**

A loud rumbling suddenly filled the night sky after a flash of lightning, as the Gods played bowling in the cosmos, signalling the arrival of the Blonde Bombshell—Samara. The weather had taken a turn for the worst, perfectly reflecting our disheartened moods, though the lulling rain in the background brought a faint air of calm.

_DING!_ The doorbell reverberated across the hall, for the second time.

"Coming!" I yelled, briskly walking towards the door, though I'm sure she couldn't hear.

Thunder rang out once more, as the door crept open, revealing a disheveled Samara. My heart sank to the floor, seeing her in this condition. Her dampened clothing hung loosely from her body and her blue jeans was saturated with blood stemming from the wound on her right thigh. She looked so ... _dispirited_.

_This is all my fault._ I thought to myself, guilt plummeting under my skin. _I, more than anyone else, should have known that -A would be this fricking merciless. _

"Oh my God!" I held onto her hand, leading her inside before closing the door behind us, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay as I can be right now," she answered, smiling weakly, "To be completely honest with you, I'm just feeling a bit weak ... and dizzy."

As if on cue, I placed her arm around my shoulder for support and held onto her waist. She was having difficulty walking and I didn't want her to fall down. I led her into the living room, where everyone were still seated in front of the television. When we entered, their eyes all turned to us with the same shocked expression plagued across their faces, which I had when I first saw her outside.

"I assume that you guys already know Samara, right?" I asked, motioning for her to sit on the leather love seat and slipping her out of my embrace as she did.

"I believe I've met everyone here at some point," Samara scanned the room, "... excluding the girl sitting on the floor."

"Anet?" Emily shook her, trying to get her attention.

When Anet turned to lock eyes with Samara, all of the lights in the room briefly flickered. She looked as if she was staring into Samara's soul; not blinking for a second.

_Okay, that was weird._ I thought to myself, examining the lights around us.

"Earth to Bottai," Spencer threw a pillow at her, but she didn't budge.

"Is it just me, or is she drooling?" Hanna chuckled.

I turned my attention back to Samara, noting that she had the same look in her eyes as Anet.

"Guys..." I gestured towards the blonde, drawing the attention away from our witch friend.

"Is this some freaky mating ritual?" Caleb asked half-jokingly.

"Maybe this is how witches mark their territory," Aria tried to reason.

"Yeah, Samara definitely looks like she's under a spell," Jake laughed.

"It's not a spell," Anet broke out of her trance, getting up to walk over to Samara and I, to introduce herself, "excuse my manners, I'm Anet."

"It's nice to meet you, but what was that?" Samara shook Anet's hand, contorting her face in utter confusion, as the lights flickered again when their skin made contact.

"And what's wrong with the lights?" I asked.

Anet let out a hearty laughter, "To answer both your questions, I believe your wounded friend and I have _explosive_ chemistry. You're lucky the bulbs didn't completely blow out."

"I beg to differ," Samara protested.

"Oh, really?" Anet challenged, extending her hand, "shake my hand again, if you're so certain."

Samara looked at me and even though I couldn't read minds, I knew she was asking, _'is she really serious?' _I shook my head, encouraging her to take up the dare.

She sighed, shaking Anet's hand once more. This time, the lights completely went out, fading back on, after approximately 5 seconds. The blonde was slack-jawed, staring incredulously.

"_Awkward_," I mumbled, running my hands through my hair, "I'll get a first aid kit to stop your bleeding, Bombshell. I'll be right back." I announced, grabbing Anet, "... and you're going to come with me."

Emily shot me a questioning look before I exited the room, but I shrugged it off.

"Can't you see I was busy?" Anet leaned against the wall in the storage room, which was located under the staircase.

"Oh, you know exactly why I brought you here." I stated matter-of-factly, searching for the first-aid kit, "care to explain what just happened?"

"It's on the top shelf over there," Anet lifted her head in the direction she was referring to, crossing her arms in front of her, "Do you remember when we first met and I told you that I'm a star child?"

"Yeah, whatever that means," I murmured, taking the kit down.

"Mainstreamers know us as _Indigo Children_," she pushed away from the wall, "scientists believe we're the new race of human beings, since we naturally possess natural psychic abilities and knowledge of the unknown. But, to cut a long story short, we have this thing called ... a _Twin Flame_, which is basically our equivalent of a soul mate."

"So, Samara's your_ 'twin flame'_?" I asked using air quotations.

_Yes! Now all I need to do, is make sure that they get together, so she'll completely back off of Emily._

"Don't get too excite, Ali," she chuckled, "I'll gladly take her off of your hands, but this might cause some difficulties."

_Good going, Alison. You forgot she can read minds_, my sub-conscience snickered.

"Exactly what kind of difficulties are we talking about?" I inquired, arching an eyebrow at her.

"Apart from breaking all your light bulbs and hopefully a bed in the future," Anet began explaining, "our souls are now synced, which means if I'm not around her, my visions will now be vague. On the bright side, when we _are_ together, everything tremendously amplifies."

"Well, we'll just have to make sure you two are always in the same room, right?" I winked, walking back to the living room, "Problem solved."

"Ding-dong, the witch is back!" Hanna cheered.

"Han, it's _Ding-Dong, the witch is dead_," Spencer rolled her eyes, "and the last time I checked, Anet is very much alive."

"I told you guys, I'm a zombie!" Anet grinned, sitting beside Samara.

"If you say so," I stood in front of the blonde, examining her wound, "I might need you to change into short pants..."

"Damn! I should have asked the ax murderer to help me pack some clothes, before I ran here," Samara face-palmed herself, laughing lightly.

"You can borrow one of mine," Emily politely offered.

"That's a really good excuse to get into someone's pants," Toby teased.

_Was that really necessary?_ I frowned at him, fighting the urge to roll my eyes.

Emily ignored the inappropriate jokes and went to get a short pants for Samara to change into. When they got back, I shook my head in disapproval after noticing Anet brazenly checking her legs out.

"Subtle as ever," I nudged her elbow.

"Maybe I should be the one to clean her wound," Anet turned her attention to me, smiling suggestively.

I playfully pushed her away, getting out of the seat and moving over to the blonde. I clean her wound, adding some ointment, before bandaging it up. When I was done, I sat on Emily's lap and interlocked our fingers. It was only a day, but I missed being alone with her already. _Ugh, if only -A would disappear forever._

"So, since you're all settled now, can you tell us exactly what happened to you?" Spencer asked.

_Hmm, this should be interesting._

"Sure. I remember getting in the dorm after my meeting with the Newspaper Club and being really tired. So, I ate a PB&J sandwich, took a bathe and went to bed," Samara recounted, "I don't know what time it was, but I was awaken by a ruffling noise in the room. Naturally, I thought that it was Emily. Then, I remembered that she moved out. Upon realizing this, I sprang up to see a hooded person with a black mask on, swinging an ax at me. I began fighting back, but like I told Em, the bastard got a good swing at my thigh, before I kicked him in the balls and ran down the fire escape. Now, here I am, thankful to be alive."

We all exchanged worried expressions. _This was definitely the work of -A._ But the real questions were: _Should we tell her about everything? Can she help with our investigation?_ or _Is she one of -A's minions?_

_If you really thought she was, you wouldn't have invited her over, _my sub-conscience answered the latter question. Either way, we had to do something and we had to do it now.

Everyone nodded their heads, pushing me to explain everything to her. I sighed, revealing our current situation to the bewitching blonde, leaving out certain details. She was shocked, but quickly offered to help in whatever way that she could. All I really needed her to do, was stay around Anet, though. I didn't want her to really give her too much information, until she proved her loyalty. It was important that we stayed at least 2 steps ahead of that bitch.

After a long discussion, I assigned everyone their respective bedrooms. It was a good thing that I had so many, though I rarely let anyone come over. Anet was pestering me to let her bunk with Samara, but the poor girl just got attacked by -A. The last thing she needed was another assault—a sexual assault, that is. I swear, this witch girl is just too much. I was just really glad to finally have Emily in my arms, after a really long day, but there was only one thing that I wanted to get done before I did that.

"What are you doing?" Emily hugged me from behind, leaning over my shoulder to see what I was doing on my study desk.

"Tweaking the iron bloodhound," I answered, kissing against her temple.

"Tweaking it? Isn't that already_ really _bad ass?" she asked.

"Not bad ass enough," I smiled involuntarily, "my gut is telling me that I should add a GPS feature to it, so that's what I'm doing."

"Let me get this straight," she removed her arms, getting a seat to sit down beside me, "you're adding a tracking feature, to a disguisable fingerprinting device, that already has a wireless transmitter which is linked to the _Juptier Plutonium_? You're an evil genius!"

"And I'm all yours," I added, "you must feel really lucky."

"Mmm," she brushed her lips against my ear, gently tracing a finger along my jawline, "lucky enough to _get_ lucky ..."

I closed my eyes as my skin prickled beneath her touch. _God, that feels so good._

"Oh, honey," I smirked deviously, a husky tone taking over my voice, "the things that I'm going to do to you."

"Shhh," Emily placed her index finger against my lips, "... actions speak louder than words."

* * *

><p>I woke up later than usual today, feeling sore as hell. Who knew Emily could be so aggressive in bed? I usually did most of the work, but she switched the tables last night, turning into a complete dominatrix and carrying everything to a new level, just when I thought our sex life couldn't get any better. I walked into the kitchen after taking a shower, finding Spencer, Toby and Aria enjoying coffee at the breakfast nook.<p>

"Wow, Ali. That hickey is the size of Africa," Toby simpered, taking another sip from his mug.

"What hickey?" I shrieked, grabbing my neck. _I'm sure I would have seen it, when I looked in the mirror earlier._

"I'm kidding," he laughed, "I only wanted to see your reaction."

"You guys should really keep down the noise, though," Hanna commented, walking into the kitchen, "I heard everything so loud and clear, I felt like we were having a three-some."

"Every room in this house is soundproof," I glared knowingly at her, causing everyone to laugh.

"You guys totally did it last night," Aria teased, "you look so guilty, right now."

"Maybe, maybe not," I smirked, fetching some coffee for Emily and I, along with a light breakfast, while waiting for her to come downstairs.

Emily walked down 20 minutes afterwards, followed by Samara and Anet. I was wondering where Jake and Caleb were, but Aria informed me that they went scavenger hunting for something downtown. We all ate breakfast together, falling into light talk, but as soon as we were done, I pulled Hanna onto the balcony to talk privately.

"Han, I need your help with something, but you can't tell anyone," I said, looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening.

"Sure, what's up?" she looked at me curiously.

"I was thinking that maybe I should carry Em on a date later, considering everything that's going on right now," I switched my attention to the ground, suddenly feeling shy, "it would be a nice break, you know? But I don't know where we should go."

"Oh my gosh, you guys are too cute," Hanna gushed, "there's a bunch of places that you can carry her."

"Well, some options would be nice," I moved my gaze back to her, smiling.

"You can always take her to the carnival, or maybe a romantic dinner on a beach," she began listing options, "a picnic somewhere secluded but not creepy. Or if you want to be adventurous, there's always rock climbing, camping, laser tag or paintballing."

A light went off in my head. _I should text Liam to help as well._

"Thanks, Han!" I pulled her into a tight hug, "I totally have the best idea right now, because of you. Emily will love it!"

"Anytime," she said as she pulled away, "aren't you going to tell me what you have in mind?"

"Of course, but after we get back," I answered, pulling out my phone to text Liam.

I wanted him to go ahead and decorate the location. He did an awesome the last time I asked him to help, so I'm sure he wouldn't disappoint.

"Fine," Hanna pouted, "but you owe me all the juicy details."

"Deal!" I agreed hesitantly, walking with her inside.

"Hey," Anet whispered out of nowhere, startling me.

"What the hell? Can you teleport now?" I muttered, slipping my phone in my pocket after sending the message.

"No," she chuckled, "I think I'm making progress with Samara."

"Really?" I shifted my gaze to the blonde, "how so?"

"She shared a pancake with me and told me 'Good Morning' earlier," she squealed.

"Oh, yeah. She's definitely checking you out, dude," I giggled, "I'm sure in cultures, you'd be married already."

"Shut up, Ali," she joined in on the laughter, pushing me away playfully.

"When you actually manage to swoon her, we can go double date."

"That should be soon," Anet replied confidently, "after all, it is written in the stars for us to be together."

"You are too much, I swear," I laughed again.

Even though I only knew Anet for a few weeks, it felt like we've known each other forever. She got along with everyone too, although Liam thinks she's a total weirdo. I don't blame him, though. She was indeed ... different; almost like an acquired taste.

I was cut short by the buzzing of my phone. I checked to see that I got a reply from Liam.

_**'Of course, Maddy Pooh! It would be a pleasure to make your steamy fantasy come true. (; Give the boys and I 2 hours to get everything together. We should be done by then. Do you have any special requests for the lunch menu? xoxo, Li.'**_

_What would I do without this guy as my best friend? _I quickly sent a reply with Emily's favorite dish and wine, thanking him for doing this under such short notice. I felt like I owed her for being such a wonderful girlfriend. _God, I love her so much._

I told Emily that I was going to take her out for lunch, but I didn't mention that it was a date. We both ran to get ready, since we only had 2 hours to get there and the drive alone would take around 40 minutes. I decided that it would be a good idea to get out of town, since -A was on the prowl. The last thing I needed was for that bitch to ruin our alone time—_again._

"Can you at least tell me where we're going?" Emily pouted as she climbed into the passenger seat of the G55.

I looked at her as the sun shined through the windshield, illuminating every inch of her face and made her hair look as it were glowing brown. Her white summer dress complimented her skin tone and she looked like an angel. _I'm so lucky._

I leaned in to peck her on the lips, resting my forehead against hers, when I was finished, "it's a surprise, baby."

"Fine," she mocked a frown, putting her seat belt on, "I'm sure it will be worth it, though."

"Oh, it will be," I smiled, revving the engine to life and heading to our destination. We sang along to _Ellie Goulding _songs on the way.

* * *

><p>I covered Emily's eyes leading her down a short forest trail. When Hanna said 'a secluded area', this place immediately came to mind; <em>Ten Section Lake<em>. I guess they named it like that, because the water was ten shades of blue. Simply beautiful, especially when the sun was setting. The trees canopied over the entire area, giving it a natural dim lighting effect, no matter how bright the sun was shining in the sky.

When we reached our destination along the path, I gasped. Liam did one helluva job. It looked even more beautiful that I imagined it. I dropped my hands from Emily's eyes, letting her take in the view as well. We both looked around in awe.

"This is the most romantic thing I've ever seen," she gawked.

There was at least 100 jars on the forest floor, each with a different colored candle already lit. Some jars hung from low lying branches over the heavily decorated dinner table that stood next to lake as well.

"It's almost as beautiful as you," I looked into her brown eyes, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Babe ..." she smiled warmly, wrapping her arms around my waist and kissing me.

I placed my arms around her neck, deepening the kiss. I tugged at her bottom, tracing it with my tongue before slipping it inside her mouth. Emily purred as our tongues dueled ruthlessly. We pulled apart when air became a problem, after Emily insisted on dropping her hands to my ass and giving it a tight squeeze that caused my breath to hitch inside my throat.

"And I thought I was the horny one in the relationship," I teased.

"Hush," she giggled, "I love you, babe. Thank you for all of this. I really needed it."

"I love you too, Em." I pulled her to the table, "and I'll do everything that I can, to constantly remind you just how much."

Emily's cheeks flooded with color as the words left my lips. Words are meaningless, when you feel so deeply. Nothing could ever complain to ... _this_. I meant every single thing that I said to her.

"You're a dream come true," she said, reaching over the table to hold one of my hands, "So, what's for lunch?"

"Your favorite," I lifted the metal cloche, revealing the food, "Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca and a bottle of Domaine Romanée-Conti to drink."

"Seriously, I must be dreaming," her brown eyes melted against the reflecting of the candle light, "can you pinch me?"

"Oh, I'll do more than pinch you," I growled lowly, winking, "but after this. I'm starving."

We ate the main course in peaceful silence. Whoever said that silence was deafening, never experienced it with someone they truly love. It was incredibly soothing to the soul and filled with unsaid emotions. Whenever I glanced at her and met her eyes staring back at me, I fell in love even deeper. And that said a lot, coming from someone who reached 6 feet under a long time ago, the first time her kisses died against my lips.

"Don't you think it's kind of cool that Anet can read people's minds?" Emily said as she finished her meal, propping her head on top of her hand.

"Yeah, I guess." I wiped my lips with a handkerchief, "why?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, meeting my eyes, "Sometimes I wish I had the ability, then I'd know exactly how other people saw me."

"I can't speak on the behalf of anyone else, but I can tell you exactly how I see you," I said, reaching for her free hand, interlocking our fingers, "you are the sunshine on my darkest days, the calm after a storm and the reason my world stays on it's axis. The moon peaks out every night just to see your face. Sometimes it even argues with the sun for looking at you too long, that's why they sometime share the sky together. Basically, you are my everything and I wouldn't be here, if it wasn't because of you."

Tears began rolling down her flushed cheeks, "I - I ... don't even know what to say. That was the best thing anyone has ever said to me," her voice began cracking, "I love you soooo much, Ali!"

I took out my purse, getting a tissue paper for her.

"Here, babe. Please don't cry!" I frowned, "I never want to be the reason for you to cry."

"These are happy tears," she smiled widely, "you make me so happy. I wouldn't give you up for the world."

I was about to answer her, when I heard footsteps crushing dead leaves.

"What was that?" Emily's face dropped, worried lines forming on her forehead.

"I don't know," I grabbed her hand, scanning the area, trying to locate where the noise was coming from. I quickly pulled out my handgun with my free hand and planted the _Iron Bloodhound _on the table, just in case.

The ruffling of leaves increased and suddenly—everything fell silent once more. _Too silent,_ to be exact.

A hooded figure dropped a few seconds later from a tree right in front of our table, holding up an ax.

_SHIT!_

I quickly pulled Emily away from her frozen position.

"Run, Em! I got this," I yelled, letting go of her hand. _Or at least I think I do._

"No! I'm not going any where!" She rebutted as the ax murderer closed in on us.

I fired a warning shot, "If you make another step to us, I won't hesitate to shoot you."

The hooded figure stopped dead in their tracks, making a throat cutting gesture, before coming closer.

I moved in front of Emily, firing a shot at his leg but it didn't have any effect.

_What the hell? Is he a robot or something?_

I shot once again, this time aiming for the stomach, but it was futile.

_You didn't get a black belt in Krav Maga for nothing, Ali. Use it!_ My sub-conscience reminded me.

"Stay back," I warned Emily, cracking my neck before walking defensively to the hooded figure.

He didn't hesitate to swing his ax at me, but I blocked his attack and elbowed him in the face. He staggered backwards and I used this as an opportunity to kick him deep in the stomach. He flew backwards, hitting a tree pretty hard. I wasn't going to wait for him to get up, so I picked up the ax which had fallen during the scuffle and grabbed Emily's hand to run back to the vehicle.

"That was TOO close," Emily said as we sped off, hyperventilating, "where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Well, I had a bunch of free time when I was running," I answered quickly, trying not to stumble my words over each other. The adrenaline I was currently experiencing was insane, "I decided to take some classes in New York, in case anything like this ever happened."

I pulled out my phone, hitting my speed dial to get Gregorio on the phone. I put it on speaker when he answered.

"Gregorio, it's Madison. I need you to get the team at my house as soon as possible!" I urged him.

"Ms. Darkbloom, what happened? I'll get everyone there in 5 minutes the most," he answered, concern evident in his voice. It was weird, coming from him. He always spoke in a monotone voice.

"I got ambush, while I was out and I don't want to have a breach in security. Get the guards for the gates as well. I'll see you there soon." I requested, before ending the call.

"I thought Gregorio was only your driver," Emily said.

"He's also head of security, but we've never had to deal with something like this before. So, it wasn't necessary," I replied, trying to take as much short cuts back home as possible.

_How did -A know where to find us? I purposely went out of the city to prevent this from happening. I even had all these safety precautions on my phone and everything that I owned, just to make sure no one would hack into them. There had to be some breach in security, but how?_

We reached back at the mansion way sooner than I expected. I guess I drove faster than I thought I did. Adrenaline was still coursing through my veins and all I could really think about was keeping Emily and my friends safe from that bitch.

When I got out of the vehicle, I grabbed her hand and was greeted immediately by Gregorio.

"Ms. Darkbloom, we have armed guards in the gate tower and hunting dogs on the complex. We're just waiting for you to get inside, before setting up the extensive Code Red security system, to lock down everything." he informed me.

"Good, we'll head inside now," I put a hand on his shoulder, "thank you for everything. I leave our safety in your hands."

"I'll be sure to keep any intruder away," he saluted.

When we got inside, Spencer rushed to us.

"What's going on? All these people are walking around with big guns and dogs," she asked.

"-A tried to ax us," I answered, "I think we might have a breach in security, so I'm taking every safety precaution that I can. They're locking down the house right now. Is everyone in here?"

"Yeah, they're in the den upstairs," Spencer informed me.

"Great, let's get up there. I need to let them know what's going on." I said.

We ran to the third floor, finding everyone having a light conversation.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but -A has just declared war," I walked to the center of the room, "Emily and I got attacked on our date, but I planted the Iron Bloodhound before we left. If we're lucky, -A took the bait."

"How did you guys get away?" Jake was the first to speak up, from the shocked crowd.

"I might have beat him up a little," I shrugged it off like nothing, "I tried shooting at first, but the bullets had no fricking effect. It was like shooting at a fricking robot, so I had to get physical. I ran out of there before the idiot had a change to revive after I kicked him into a tree."

"You're tougher than you look," Caleb said, obviously impressed.

"I guess I am," I smiled for the first time, since the incident happened.

"You guys should of seen her. She was acting all alpha female and telling me to stay back, while she handled it," Emily bragged, tugging my hand.

"Nobody's going to harm my girlfriend," I stated matter-of-factly, "now, let's see if -A took the bait."

I took out my laptop, logging into the Jupiter Plutonium software. Everyone hovered around me, especially Spencer and Caleb.

After it booted up, information immediately rushed in from the device.

"No way!" Caleb yelped.

"What does all of this mean?" Hanna asked.

"It means we have -A's fingerprint and current GPS coordinates." I answered, typing the coordinates into a tracking system.

"Is that-" Spencer began speaking.

"The Raven Rock Mountain Complex in Adam's County?" Aria finished her sentence.

And then it occurred to me. _All of this happened after Samara came._

* * *

><p><strong>P.S. | <strong>_Is this progressing too fast or too slow for anyone? I have a general timeline of -A getting taken down, but I'll have around 7 chapters left afterwards. If you have any suggestions at all, anything that you'd like to see happen when the peace is restored, feel free to PM me or leave it in a review. (: I keep getting a lot of requests for a detailed Emison love scene and don't worry, I'll be sure to write one as soon as the timing seems right. I'd like to give a special thanks to IntelligentPrincess, mitchfever, lolwhut19 and sashahxlic for always reviewing, to Blaze574 for the date idea, to alisondilaurentis96 for suggesting a situation in which Ali showcased her protective side for Emily and also, a very special thank you to BrittzandTana for listening to me ramble everyday, because I can be annoying, haha. If you haven't read her Emison fic, "Let Me Love You", as yet, you're missing out! Be sure to check it out, if you haven't. (: In other news, any Sanet shippers out there? _


	19. The ManchuriAn Candidate (Pt I of II)

**A/N: **_I swear, the reviews from the last chapter gave me a good chuckle. Great theories, nonetheless, mates! When I started this fic, I remember I had problems writing from Ali's POV, but now I actually prefer it. I feel like I lost some of Emily's personality, but I'll try my best to work on it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed/faved./followed. Special thank you's and responses will be at the end. Enjoy! (:_

**Emily's POV**

While we were processing the information in which the Iron Bloodhound was feeding wirelessly to the Jupiter Plutonium software, Ali suddenly began acting a little ... peculiar, if that's even the right word to describe it. It probably went unnoticed by everyone else, but I knew her better than anyone else did, so I couldn't shake the feeling that she knew something that she didn't want to share. But, what could that possibly be?

"Hasn't that complex been closed for years now?" Caleb pointed out.

"Yeah," Spencer nodded, "I remember reading about it in the newspaper. They went in foreclosure during the recession. A lot of people were pissed about losing their jobs."

"Wait a second," Ali lifted her index finger, typing in something quickly with her free hand, "I'm pulling up the deed to the property right now."

And as soon as she said that, I saw information flashing across the screen, followed by a loading image. As it completely formed, I noticed that it was an official document, showcasing the ownership of the complex. It was impressive that Ali had access to all of this information. I wonder if -A had something similar to all of this, because that would explain how they were everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

"It looks like they went under new management, a few months after they closed their doors to the public." Ali leaned closer to the screen, continuing, "It was purchased from a bank auction by Stephanie Țepeș-Dracul, also known as Calypso's mother. What the hell are they doing there?"

"Building an army of Red Coats and Black Hoodies, planning our demise and then heading for world domination, maybe?" Hanna shrugged nonchalantly, as if it were child's play.

"Hanna!" Aria elbowed her, shaking her head in disapproval, "Ali, didn't you get fingerprints too?"

"Oh, yeah. Let's check them out," Ali answered, snapping out of whatever thoughts were crossing her mind.

_There she goes again, acting weird. _I thought to myself, slowly massaging my palms into her shoulders to relax her._ Whatever's making her so tense, must be really big. _

The software only took a few seconds to process the fingerprint, coming up with absolutely zilch, nada, _nothing_.

"How is that even possible?" Jake asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"The only way that it would be, is if the person that attacked us was a minor," I answered, trying to make sense of this. It felt as if the more information we got on -A, the less sense things seemed to make.

"A minor on steroids, maybe," Ali added, turning her attention to the group, "that guy was huge!"

"... or an illegal immigrant," Anet emerged from Samara's shadow, chuckling.

"Aren't you like ... psychic or something?" Toby raised his eyebrows, "couldn't you predict that this was going to happen?"

The look Anet shot back at him made me laugh a little too hard. For some reason, she didn't even have to say anything to be funny. Her facial expression did all the talking in that moment, indirectly asking him _are you serious_?

"I don't know if any of you have noticed, but I have a better understanding of things that have _already_ happened. The future isn't something constant. It's always changing with every decision that you make in this very instant. Sure I have visions that haven't occurred as yet, but it's just as likely that they might not happen the way that I see them, or they might not happen at all." She started lecturing, obviously irritated, "But to answer your question, yes, I am psychic. But, I didn't see this happening. I told Ali that -A was planning to attack you guys this weekend, and Samara ended up being the victim. Now, they did a surprise attack on Ali and Em. If I knew that this was going to happen, I would've warned them."

"Calm down, little witch. You don't have to explain anything to anyone." Ali rose from her seat and walked towards her, "I know if you saw anything happening, you would've warned me. But, aside from that. We need to talk ... in private."

Ali pulled her into another room and I followed behind. I really wanted to know what was really going on. When we got in there, I locked the door, just to make sure no one else walked in. The last thing I need right now, was for someone to ruin this conversation, before I got to the bottom of it.

"Samara is innocent," Anet blurted out, sitting on the Piano seat.

_What is she talking about? Does Ali think Samara has something to do with this?_

_Hello, earth to Emily! Why else did she bring the psychic/mind reader in here?_ My subconscious sneered.

"Are you positive?" Ali crossed her arms in front of her chest, searching for any signs of double-dealing.

"Yes, Ali," she quickly affirmed, "I wasn't sure if I should have mentioned this in the other room, but you need to go over your security tapes from earlier. You'll find what you're looking for there. Samara is innocent, I'm certain."

I shifted my attention between the two of them, wondering what the hell was going on. Alison turned around to me and our eyes locked. I felt violent waves of electricity run through my body. It was amazing that she had this effect, simply by looking at me. My cheeks grew red, because I knew that Anet probably sensed what I was thinking.

"I know you're confused right now," Ali sighed, holding my hand, "I just thought that ... maybe Samara had something to do with this, because -A didn't get this close until she got here."

"She's totally innocent, though." Anet reiterated, switching her attention to the floor, "but ... s-s-she ..."

"Spit it out." Ali rolled her eyes, "when did you get so shy?"

"S-she might have indirectly helped -A," she stated quickly, stumbling her words over each other.

"What?!" I shrieked, widening my eyes, "how!? when?! where!?"

Anet began playing with her fingers, "I just got a vision of -A putting a tracking bug in her phone, before she got attacked. That's how they found out about here."

Without any word or warning, Ali stormed off to the door, but Anet pulled her back.

"I'm not done." She informed her, "I know you work along with the CIA. Does _Project Artichoke _ring a bell to you?"

"Yeah. It was originally _Project Bluebird_, but they renamed it. Afterwards, they started _MKUltra_." Ali answered, eyeing her intently, "what are you trying to say?"

She froze for a bit, prolonging the now awkward silence.

"Ugh," she flung her head backwards in frustration, holding her hands to her temples, "Everything's so blurry, and that's because Samara isn't even that far away from me! All I know right now, is that -A's minions are victims of that research, somehow."

"But that would mean ..." Ali paused, thinking about what she wanted to say, "that would mean that -A has access to the lab procedures. Which would also explain why the ax murderer seemed robotic."

"I'm glad that you can make sense of this, because my thoughts are too fuzzy." Anet smiled weakly.

"You lovesick puppy," Ali smirked, opening the door, "you can get back to your future girlfriend, as soon as I'm done with her."

"You have a thing for Samara?" I asked in a high-pitched tone, while Ali dragged me along to the den.

"Shhh, don't tell her," Anet pleaded, as her weak smile grew into a wide grin.

_Well, that would explain a lot. _I thought to myself. _They would make a cute couple and take Ali off the edge, though. _

When we got back in the room, everyone stopped dead in their conversations and turned all their attention to us. I felt like I grew a second head, or something.

"Hey, bombshell. Can I see your phone?" Ali asked nicely, smiling at her.

Samara gave me a questioning look, but I just shrugged in response. "Sure ..." she responded, hesitantly giving her phone.

"Caleb, can you please get me the Caspertron from the showcase over there?" Ali requested, taking the battery cover off of the phone.

He got up off of the couch and went to search for the unheard-of gadget.

"What's a Caspertron?" Hanna inquired, "some type of Ghost Busting gizmo?"

"Good one," Ali smiled, not taking her eyes off of the phone, "it's one of our many scanning devices. We use it to scan for hidden trackers, cameras, voice recorders and all that good stuff."

"You think I got bugged?" Samara freaked, nervously running her hands through her hair.

"Is that contagious?" Toby joked, moving away from the blonde.

"I don't think so," Ali replied, ignoring Toby yet again, "it's more like, I _know_ you got bugged."

"Here you go," Caleb extended a remote shaped contraption.

"Thanks! Now, let's see where that bitch hid the bug," Ali turned on the Caspertron, then proceeded to hover it all over the phone.

"Bug detected," an automated voice alerted, when she took out the battery of the phone.

"Let me see it," Spencer beseeched, taking the battery to examine it with a magnifying glass.

_Leave it up to Spencer to carry around a magnifying glass with her._

"Do you see anything?" Samara asked, anxiously biting her lip.

"I see a bunch of numbers on it. They might be the serial," Spencer answered, "Aria can you write this down?"

"Yeah, give me a sec," she scrambled over to her purse, grabbing a pen and a random piece of paper, "go ahead."

"2-25-18-15-14," Spencer slowly read out.

"What are we going to do with this now?" Aria motioned towards the paper in her hand.

"We can get Barth to track it down," Ali responded, "but let's check out the security tapes first."

We all moved over to the _Quantum Earth Council _room, where Ali kept all the security equipment. Since we didn't have a huge time frame to search, we quickly found what it was that she was looking for. The same guy that attacked us, bypassed the gates on a black Ducati Superbike, right before we left to go on our lunch date. He was searching the front yard, but when we walked out, he hid behind some shrubs. When we got into the SUV, he jumped on his bike incognito, trailing behind us. The cameras caught the tag number.

"PA1-233," Aria read out, while writing it down, "who's going to call Barth?"

"I'll do it," Ali volunteered, taking the paper from the petite brunette, "you guys can do something, in the meantime. This might take a while."

"I call dibs on the PS4," Jake yelled, running into the hallway.

Toby and Caleb shook their head, following them along with the girls. Anet and I decided to wait along with Ali for a report back from Barth.

* * *

><p>Barth took longer than usual to get back to us, since we had to wait for him to get to his house. During the time Anet, Ali and I fell into light conversation. I thought I should at least get to know her better, if we were going to be spending so much time together now.<p>

"So, how old are you?" I asked her.

"Old enough ..." She trailed off, smiling suggestively.

_Ever the charmer,_ my subconscious muttered.

"I'm serious!" I laughed, noticing Ali beaming dubiously at her, "Aren't your parents going to worry about where you are?"

"My parents live in London. I'm staying with my brother, but I'm sure he wouldn't even notice that I'm gone." Her voice took on a sad tone, but it vanished as soon as it appeared, "I'm 19 years old, though."

"Oh, so you're into older women, huh?" Ali teased, nudging her elbow against the witch.

"Just the pretty ones," She answered matter-of-factly, "Do you guys think that Samara's going to like me?"

"Can't you read her mind and find out for yourself?" I asked half-jokingly.

"Oh, I know exactly what she thinks of me," her lips curled, "she thinks that I'm just a huge flirt and she's skeptical of my abilities, though she finds me quiet entertaining. But I mean, who doesn't?"

"You're the most humble person I know," I said sarcastically.

"I know right," she chuckled, "what can I do to let her change her mind?"

"Do what I did," Ali replied, "Give her the D-"

"Ali!" I interrupted, slapping her arm playfully.

"What?" she feigned innocence, "I was going to say _dedication_. Let her feel special."

"Yeah ... you were totally going to say that," Anet smirked knowingly, "maybe I should give her bigger signs."

"Oh, you mean other than checking her out, even if she's looking right at you?" I arched an eyebrow at her.

"Totally. I'm going to walk up to her and be like, _Hey, baby. Can I read your T-shirt in braille?_" She said, giving Ali a high-five.

_They are such bad influences on each other,_ I thought to myself, rolling my eyes.

"Calm down, smooth operator," I threw a couch pillow at her.

Ali's phone started to ring, causing her to quickly change into her professional demeanor and answering the call.

"Hello? ... Really? ... So that means? ... Okay, thanks, Barth!" She hung up.

"I knew it!" Anet yelled.

"What did he say?" I asked.

"The bug belongs to the Athena Organization and the bike is registered to Enzo Maykis." Ali responded, staring at her phone, "we need to tell everyone."

We nodded and went into the entertainment room on the 2nd floor. We found the guys playing Call of Duty, while the girls were just watching.

"Barth just called," Ali notified them.

Jake paused the game, while everyone gave us their undivided attention.

"What did he say?" Spencer sprang up.

Ali sighed, "The bug in Samara's phone belongs to the Athena Organization. They got it manufactured and delivered to the complex last week. Barth cut off the Iron Bloodhound's signal, before they could have found out that we're on to them. Oh, and the bike we saw on the security footage belongs to Enzo Maykis; Calypso's father. I still don't understand why the fingerprint isn't registered within this country, though."

"That's a lot of information to process," Samara murmured, mostly to herself.

"They're really going out of their way to get to us," Hanna said, "whatever they're trying to get revenge on, can't be half as bad as this."

"I agree," Aria nodded, "this doesn't make any sense at all. But, we need to do something, before they actually get us."

"Yeah, we're super lucky that their past attempts failed. But, how long can we live on luck?" Spencer added.

"Judging by Ali's history, I'd say pretty long." Toby jested.

Ali rolled her eyes, followed by the ring of the door bell which startled all of us.

"Who can that possibly be?" Caleb questioned rhetorically, getting up from his seated position, along with Jake.

"Whoever it is, I'm going to answer the door." Jake stated dismissively, walking into the hallway and down the steps.

_What if it's -A again? No, they couldn't have gotten past security so easily, right? Well, there's only one way to find out._

I maneuvered to follow him. Ali grabbed my arm and motioned for me to walk behind her instead. _She's so protective today._

"R.H.P.D!" a male voice yelled, "Open up!"

_What the hell are the police doing here?_

"How can I help you gentlemen today?" Jake asked both officers politely, when he opened the door.

"We're here to escort Miss Aria Montgomery to the police station for questioning," one of the men apprised us, "we have reason to believe that she can assist us in our investigation of the murder of Mr. Ezra Fitz."

I looked around, seeing the panicked expression on everyone's face. _This is exactly what Aria was afraid of, _I frowned.

* * *

><p><strong>P.S. | <strong>_Any other secret C.I.A. project enthusiasts here? No? Just me? Okay, never mind. Haha. I personally think this chapter was boring, but I needed to get some background information in, before the action gets started. This was supposed to be longer, but it would take longer to write and I'm already late on the update. I have a bunch of plot twists up my sleeve, so get ready for a bumpy ride. (; To IntelligentPrincess, I'm glad that you love all the tech stuff. I have a lot more to introduce, because I'm a Tech Geek as well. Also, thanks to Guest, lolwhut19, BrittzandTana, alisondilaurentis96 (1/3 of my muses), Samantha and PLL-Naomily-iCarlyLover for reviewing. A special thank you to amandasstorybook as well. Check out her Emison fic, "I'm Coming Home", if you haven't already. It's pretty good. (: Next update will be on Saturday for sure, so keep an eye out for that! If you have any special requests or suggestions, feel free to let me know as well. I'm always open to them._


	20. The ManchuriAn Candidate (Pt II of II)

**A/N: **_Testing a new writing format for this chapter, so let me know if you like it. Just so that you don't get too confused, I'm starting off with a time jump, but I'll eventually revert back to a contiuation of the last chapter. Without further ado, (drum-rolls) The action starts ... now! Enjoy. (;_

**Alison's POV**

Darkness overpowered the luminosity emanating from our LED flashlights, only illuminating the view a few feet ahead of us, despite their harsh intensity. The setting sun outside had no effect whatsoever, after we entered the Stygian portal leading to the underground complex. Cobwebs and black streaks of mold lined the brick walls, while the roughly-cemented floors were covered with random green patches of soddened mosses and weeds. We were forced to travel in a straight line, due to the fact that the dungeon-like tunnel was too narrow. You'd get the impression that this dusty place was abandoned, if you didn't know any better.

Unbeknownst to the group, I was having a hard time suppressing a pending anxiety attack, due to my P.T.S.D. Cramped rooms and strait passageways triggered memories of being buried alive. Sometimes it got so bad, I swear I would literally feel the sand slowly pouring into my lungs all over again. Thankfully, I've been learning to control it better using the techniques my Psychologist, Dr. Josey Blackbourn, taught me.

"Are you okay, babe?" Emily asked, squeezing my sweaty hand. Her soft voice echoed for miles as her words bounced from wall to wall.

Originally, I was leading the group, but I fell behind everyone, when I began counting to 100 in my head. Distractions were the best way of coping with this condition, so far.

"I'm fine," I exhaled, realizing I'd been holding my breath. _At least now,_ my subconscious added, as I involuntarily flashed a wide smile at her. If only she knew that such a small gesture annihilated every fear and panic within my body.

Emily genuinely returned the smile, then turned back her attention in front of her after a beat; her hand never leaving mine.

I wondered if this is what the tunnel to the afterlife looked like, excluding the light at the end. Maybe this is what it looked like if you were going to hell instead. This place was _seriously_ pitch-black, causing us to be _really_ tense. Who knew what we'd encounter along the way? We walked cautiously, trying not to make too much noise. Even the occasional dead grass sounded thunderous under our feet.

"I think we're getting close," Hanna announced in hushed tones, when the gradual curve of the tunnel became apparent.

_Zzz... Zzz... Zzz..._ the front pocket of my pants started to vibrate incessantly. _Ugh, why does this phone make so much noise, when you don't want it to? _

I checked the caller I.D., surprised to see who was calling, "Aria?! Where the hell are you?!" I whispered worriedly.

I waited for an answer, hearing nothing but static for a moment, followed by a small voice.

"Guys ... _static _... they brought me ... _static_ ... dark room ... _static_ ... help!" _click,_ the call ended.

Slowly lowering my phone, I looked up to my team. Their faces were etched in concern, noticing that my jaw was clenched and my eyebrows were furrowed. I was also certain that my skin grew pale as well.

"Is Aria okay? What did she say?" Emily asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.

"I - I don't ... really know," I frowned, leaning against the cold wall with nausea now swarming my stomach, "her voice was breaking up. It was mostly static, but ... I - I think she said that she's in a dark room and that she needs help."

Hanna started to speak, when Dexter put his finger to his lips and doused the lights.

"Shhh ..." he whispered, pointing in the direction we were heading in, "I hear footsteps."

_Great, just what we need right now,_ I briefly closed my eyes in frustration, trying to hear them too.

Without any warning, Emily cupped my face, leaning her forehead against mine. Her soothing gaze turned my nausea into large butterflies, which I'd prefer any day. She softly pecked my nose, assisting me in calming my nerves once again. It's like she knew exactly what I needed and when I needed it.

The banging sound of heavy footsteps violently filled my airwaves, breaking our tender moment. It sounded like a group of people were hastily approaching us. Dexter and Terrance looked at me for permission to advance. I pulled out my modified Beretta M9 from the gun holster strapped to my leg, attached the silencer and quickly fell into a crouching position. I then swiftly maneuvered beside the guys, finally giving them the thumbs up. We discreetly led Hanna and Emily closer to the sound of the footsteps along with Caleb, finding a vantage point.

_Thud ... THud .. THUd - THUD! _The sound grew louder and louder, until light outlined the arc of the tunnel ahead.

Terrance was the first to lingeringly move from his stooping position. I counted around 4 or 5 shadowy figures appearing at a gallop. _This is it! _

"Drop your weapons!" he stealthily pounced on them, yelling in a boisterous voice.

The rest of us emerged from our vantage point boldly wielding our weapons, to back him up. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins, ready to take down anyone who tried to stop us, but when we flashed our lights towards them, we weren't expecting to see such familiar faces staring back from the enemy line. _Shit!_

* * *

><p><strong>6 Hours Earlier<strong>

The police officers were adamant about getting Aria down to the station for questioning. They assured us that she wasn't a suspect, based on the evidence they had found. But, it was standard procedure to get information from the last people any murdered victim came in contact with, prior to their death. I mean, it made a lot of sense, but when you've spent most of your teenage life having run-ins with corrupted officers or detectives, you'll never truly trust any of them.

"It's okay, guys," Aria held her hands up in surrender, walking out the door, "I just want to get this over with. So, let's go."

"If you're going, I'm going too," Jake stated, grabbing his jacket from the coat rack behind the door and following the petite brunette.

"You better," she smiled at him, then looked back at us, "I'll call as soon as we're done from the station. Don't worry too much about me."

"Oh, we won't," Spencer joked.

Both of them were trying to make light of the situation, but I had this terrible feeling in my gut, as we watched the officers driving off in their patrol car, with our best friend in the backseat. At least Jake went along with her. I didn't know him that long, but it was plain to see that he's just as protective of her as we are.

"It'll be fine, Ali," Spencer spoke nicely, placing her hand on my shoulder.

"Well, why do I feel like there's something they weren't telling us?" I quizzed, meeting her eyes.

"Because there probably is," she shrugged, looking down to her feet, "it would be detrimental to the case, if they said too much. You're probably just over-thinking this."

"Wow, you're the last person I expected to talk about over-thinking things," I laughed lightly, walking up the stairs to get back to the entertainment room.

"Hey!" She shouted in a jest timbre, "what's that suppose to mean?"

"You're the living, breathing Nancy Drew, Spence. Figure it out!" I loudly replied, smirking even though she couldn't see my face.

"Whatever!" she pretended to be exasperated, "I'm going to get some coffee. I'll be up in a minute."

I rolled my eyes, walking into the room through the french doors. When Aria and Jake left, everyone, with the exception of Spencer and I, migrated back to this quarter. I knew it was because they couldn't stomach seeing Aria leave like that. All of this was because of that bitch -A and the worst part is, I don't even know who she is. The only calming thing about that, was that I wouldn't have a guilty conscience killing her.

"Hey, Ali. What's your WiFi password?" Samara asked, being the first to speak to me since I walked in.

"Blow me first," I answered, dragging the words and grinning mischievously. Anet arched an eyebrow at me, scanning my face before falling into a fit of laughter.

Samara and Emily exchanged a look of confusion, staring at me like I was the second coming of Jesus or something.

"That's the password!" Anet choked out between giggles. I just nodded along. _That mind reading this is still pretty creepy._

"I know what I'm changing my password to now," Caleb chuckled.

"It's definitely worth the try," I smiled, plopping down next to Emily, wrapping my arms around her.

"Is that with or without spaces?" Samara further inquired, squinting her eyes at her iPad, "And ... is your network name _'It hurts when IP'_, _'Are you stealing my WiFi?' _or _'Bitch, I might be' _...?"

_God, my neighbours are the best! Well, everyone except Ms. Marchesi. She's a MAJOR pain in the ass. _

"Without spaces, no capitalization either." I answered, grinning wider, "And my network is the latter."

"Wow, that's super mature," Spencer added sarcastically, entering with a monstrous cup of coffee.

I ignored her, nuzzling against Emily's cheek. I knew she was smiling because I felt her dimple beneath my lips. I turned her face towards me with my index finger, leaning closer to kiss her. She placed her hands behind my neck, pulling me onto her lap and deepening it. She caught me off guard by biting my lip a little overly aggressive, causing a moan to embarrassingly escape my mouth.

_Boink!_ ... A couch pillow bounced off of my head. I pulled away, seeing Hanna giggling at me.

"Just get married already!" Toby teased, "you guys already act like honeymooners."

"Oh, trust me. I plan to," I blurted out, getting nervous after I realized what I said.

I glanced at Emily, seeing her cheeks flooding with color. _Hell, I'd marry her right at this moment, if that was possible. There's no doubt in my mind that she's the one for me._

"Do you mean that?" she asked in a small voice, eyeing me curiously.

"Of course, baby," I said softly, flashing a warm smile, "Forever, remember?"

A chorus of Aww's erupted behind us. Even though I hated letting other people see this side of me, it didn't matter right now. Emily meant the world to me and I'd shout it to the world, if I had to. I connected our lips once more, noticing tears entering her eyes. I knew they were happy tears, but I never want to be the reason she cries. I want to be the reason she smiles, the reason she looks forward to seeing another day, the reason she knows exactly what true love is, and most importantly, I want to be reason she's immensely happy, because that's how she makes me feel everyday.

_Ping!_ ... The sound of a new text message caused me to pull away ... again. _Ugh, this is why I prefer being alone with Emily. No distractions. _

I pulled out the phone from my pocket, noticing that it was Samara's.

_**New message from: Blocked number**_

_Could it be? No, no, no, no! _I mentally panicked, anxiously opening the message.

_**'See how easy it was to bypass your security? Well, now you know. One down, four to go. Just wait 'til it's your time. Haarman will come after you. And with his chopper, oh so fine, He'll make mincemeat out of you. Kisses, -A.'**_

"Oh .. my .. God," I enunciated every word, springing to my feet, "-A has Aria! I knew those officers were suspicious!"

"What?!" said everyone in unison.

Samara took her phone and angrily smashed it on the floor, "this is all my fault!"

"Save your energy, bombshell. We're going to take that bitch down today," I vocalized through gritted teeth, clenching my fists, "Guys, follow me to the hidden lair beside the pool."

* * *

><p>When we walked down the stairs into the lair, I waited for the entrance to close behind us. I headed towards the one door in which I purposely missed, when I was giving everyone the tour last week. It was such a relief that everyone got so distracted with the interrogation room, that they didn't ask about this one. I opened it, revealing what was inside. All I see behind me, was faces filled with awe.<p>

"You like?" I generally asked, switching the light on. Everything inside was divinely white, with glass tables and shelves filled with even more gadgets and weapons than anywhere else on my compound.

"This is ... every tech geek's heaven," Caleb exclaimed, examining some of the gizmos.

"So, how will these help us? and what exactly is your plan, Ali?" Spencer asked.

_Good question, Nancy Drew._ I pulled out a blueprint of the _Raven Rock Mountain Complex_ and laid it down on a free table.

"Well, Spence. According to this, there are four entrances into the underground compound. Two in the front and two in the back." I pointed to the main entryway, "This is where the security tower is, and it overlooks both of these access points. So, we'd need to sneak through the rear side. I say we split into two teams and clear both of the back portals, which gradually intersects. So, we'll meet up at the intersection, then launch a full ambush into the main site. They'll never see us coming."

"Good idea, but ... there's only 8 of us and a whole lot of them," she pointed out.

"I already thought of that. I'll get some of Gregorio's best guys from outside to join us. They're reliable and he puts them through intensive training, before letting them be an official member of his team." I assured her. "Now, can we move on to the widgets?"

"Please!" Caleb entreated, an eager smile gracing his features.

"I call dibs on the Nano-tube Suit," Anet proudly broadcasted.

_This girl seriously needs to get out of my head. Great choice, Anet. Great choice._

"That's not fair!" Hanna shifted her attention between the witch and I.

"But Han, you don't even know what it is," Emily commented.

"Don't worry, I have more than one of them." I pressed a button on the wall, causing a large showcase of suits to descend from the ceiling, "The Nano-tube suit is made out of, well, nano-tube sheets. The name basically gives it away. Once the material reaches a high temperature, it causes light to bend."

"So, it makes you invisible?" Toby shrieked, "I want one too!"

"I wouldn't be so quick to decide. What else do you have?" Spencer crossed her arms.

_Hmm, what do I have that will impress a Hastings?_

"Well, I haven't picked a name for this yet. It's just a concept at the moment," I pulled out a black jump suit, which looked like it had a bulletproof vest, elbow and knee pads attached to it, "Barth said we should call it _Gecko Toes_. It has a protective layer of nano-hairs which fuses with smooth surfaces and allows you to easily climb walls or ... anything, actually."

"Eww, that sounds gross and super itchy," Hanna curled her lips in disgust, moving beside me to search for something that she'd like.

"I think it sounds awesome," Spencer took the suit, obviously astonished at such an invention.

"What can I wear?" Emily contemplated, asking the question mostly to herself.

_Nothing, if it were up to me, _my concupiscence commented, stirring in it's rose-petaled bed as images of her nude body rapidly flashed in my mind. _This is the worst time to be turned on._

"Whatever your heart desires, babe." I answered, shaking the mental pictures out of my head.

All of us took turns, changing into our protective gear. Anet and Toby each wore a _Nano-Tube suit_, while Caleb and Spencer wore the_ Gecko Toes suit_. When Emily walked out, my concupiscence fully woke up. She had on a skin fit leather jumpsuit with the zipper down the middle, complimented by a duty belt and a gun holster attached to her left leg. I couldn't help but stare; she looked super hot.

Hanna burst through the door a few minutes later, breaking my corrupted thoughts. _What the hell is she wearing?_

"Pink camouflage? Really, Han?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

"Correction, NEON pink camo," Spencer pointed, "you're going to fricking glow in the dark with that."

"Don't hate the player, hate the game," Hanna shrugged us both off, taking out her phone.

"Any way, let's get the weapons and head out," I shook my head, taking two pistols, an MP5k and a SIG556 patrol rifle, along with a silencer and some explosives.

"Yeah, sure. But first, let me take a selfie," Hanna posed, doing the duck face with the peace sign. Emily jumped in, photo bombing.

"Please tell me I'm hallucinating," Spencer dryly murmured.

"Oh, I wish we both were," I replied, putting all the weapons in my belt and holsters.

"That wasn't good. Let's take another one," Hanna stated to Em.

"No, no, no," I dragged both of them outside, "you can take as much selfies as you want, as soon as we rescue our little brunette."

The rest of the group followed behind us to the garage. I called Gregorio to send down his best guys: Dominic, Jesse, Terrance and Dexter. Spencer was the leader of her team, which consisted of Toby, Samara, Anet, Dominic and Jesse. My team was Emily, Hanna, Caleb, Terrance and Dexter. Now that I think of it, Spencer has a huge advantage. She has a professional sniper, an ex-assassin and a fricking psychic on her team.

_I really should have thought about this, before we left. She even has one of favorite vehicles; a black bulletproof, military Jeep Wrangler. At least I have the FJ Cruiser. This is thing is built like a tank. This is going to be a super long day._

* * *

><p><strong>Spencer's POV<strong>

I can't believe Ali made me drive this junk, instead of the FJ Cruiser. And to top it all off, she gave me the blonde and the psychic, along with two guys that looked like they just broke out of prison. The only thing that I'm really thankful for at the moment, is the earphones. Barth managed to hack into the complex's security cameras, using the I.P. address in which the bug was transmitting to. He was going to be talking to us throughout the mission, just to make sure it was successful. I really hope that Aria is okay.

The complex was located an hour and a half away, near a desert. -A definitely was in for a rude awakening. I was heading for the _D Portal_, while Ali's team were going through the_ C Portal_. Looking at the blueprint, I noticed that the intersection of both of these weren't far from each other. Actually, the entrance into the main area was at least 3 times longer, if my calculations were accurate.

When we arrived, Dominic and Jesse gout out and eased the car door shut. The rest of us did the same. The stillness in the air was enough to make anyone uneasy, especially with the setting sun causing menacing shadows to form. It looked like no one used this entry way in years. it was overrunning with shrubs and random families of flora.

Dominic tilted his head, motioning for us to walk inside, after he thoroughly checked it for possible assailants. The first thing I noticed, was the musky smell filling the air followed by the pitch-blackness. I knew I was supposed to be the leader, but to be honest, I was a bit intimidated. I mean, we were walking into the enemy's nest. There's nothing that I could have done to prepare myself for this. I felt my hands began to shake, when I turned on my flashlights.

"These fricking mosquitoes are eating me up!" Samara glowered, randomly flailing her flashlight in the air.

"Well, tell them to let me have a turn," Anet quietly razzed, smiling suggestively.

"What?" She asked, obviously not hearing.

"What?" Anet mocked.

_Anyone with eyes can see that these two want each other. Samara really needs to stop playing so hard. I just hope they don't hamper our progress._

I wasn't sure if the narrow tunnel was an advantage or disadvantage. On one side, it would make it hard for anyone to attack us, but on the other, it would also make it difficult for us to have a quick getaway, as well. We really should have planned this a little longer, but all I care about right now, is saving Aria.

"We're approaching the entrance," Jesse announced, after what felt like hours of walking.

The sound of someone else approaching from the opposite direction became evident. Instead of straying away, the guys moved quicker ahead. _What the hell is wrong with them?_

I saw a faint light ahead, but it burned out straightaway. I pulled out my 9MM from it's holster, ready to fire. When we got closer to the curve of the tunnel, a loud voice rang out.

"Drop your weapons!" a male figure ordered, flashing a bright light in our face, causing us to slightly cover our eyes in defense.

"Spencer?" a familiar voice asked in confusion.

I removed my hands, squinting to see who it belonged to. "Ali? What the hell?"

"Thank God, I thought you guys were -A's minions or something," she said, relieved.

Zzz ... Zzz ... my phone buzzed, notifying me that I had a message.

_**New message from: Aria**_

_No way! How is that possible? _I hastily opened it, seeing what she had to say.

_**'Hey, Spence. I tried calling Ali, but she couldn't hear me clearly. Jake and I are back at the house. The interrogators took a lot longer than originally planned, but we're okay. Call me when you see this. Xx, Ar.'**_

_Oh my God. We played right in -A's hands!_

* * *

><p><strong>P.S. |<strong> _A while back, someone requested Spencer's POV, so here you go. I know, I know. You're probably missing the Emison fluff. I promise that it'll get reallyyyy "fluffy", as soon as all of this is over. I must admit, I'm having fun writing all this action and suspense, though. Like I said before, expect a bunch of plot twists. I can't wait until you find out who big -A is! I gave away 2 huge hints, a few chapters back, but I'm almost sure they went unnoticed. Speaking of which, am I the only one that thinks -A sucks at poetry? Let me hear your theories. (: Oh, and before I forget, I'd like to give a special thank you to teamhannily for mentioning me in "Bleeding Love". If you haven't read it before, you should definitely check it out. It's one of my favorite Emison fics. Also, a special thanks to Blaze574, BritzzandTana, IntelligentPrincess and alisondilaurentis96 for always reviewing. I really appreciate it! (: _


	21. Danza MacAbra

**A/N: **_Warning, this fic is about to get really dark, due to approaching Big -A reveal. But what's Pretty Little Liars without baleful themes, huh? The Athena organization itself is based on a secret order/society and since the liars are about to infiltrate their headquarters, you'll get a better glance at their inhuman methods of obtaining information and recruiting henchmen. I'll try my best not to make it as menacing as it probably sounds. Enjoy! (:_

**Emily's POV**

We went through all of this, just to find out that -A tricked us. But what's really bothering me right now, is the fact that I'm not sure if we played in -A's hands or if we did something that they didn't expect of us. Does -A even know that we were aware of their whereabouts? or the fact that—we'd be so haste to retaliate? Was this something that they wanted to happen? or would an army of -A's minions be waiting for us, as soon as we reached the main area? or worst of all, would this be the last time that Aria hears from us?

_Stop torturing yourself, Fields. _My subconscious warned me.

Maybe this is the push that we all needed to finally have the balls to confront -A. Maybe it was all for the better. _Everything happens for a reason, right? _At least that's what I like to tell myself, whenever I'm in an undesirable situation. The truth is, as humans, it's a sort of survival tactic to grasp at any form of hope once nothing's left, even if it's something you normally don't believe in—like an atheist in a crashing plane, praying to God that they'll make it out alive or a non-superstitious entrepreneur, finally closing their dream business deal and boasting to friends, quickly knocking on wood—just in case. All I really know right now is, we can tackle this situation, ending it once and for all ... or turn around and allow ourselves to be victims once more.

"I think we should continue," I blurted out, snapping from my thoughts.

"I said that 5 minutes ago, Emily," Spencer pointed out, shaking her head, "I'd feel like a complete failure, if we don't take advantage of this. For one, we didn't have any pre-planning, so -A wouldn't be able to find out about it in advance and secondly, we have enough artillery to take down an entire army base. I mean, it's almost perfect!"

"Can someone please tell me why this is a bad idea?" Toby questioned, not entertaining the scheme.

"I'm sorry, Toby. I have to agree with the girls this time." Caleb crossed his arms.

"Whatever the plan is, let's get moving," Hanna rolled her eyes, "It's so hot in here, my sweat started sweating."

"Who told you to wear Camouflage?" I jocosely rebutted.

"Says the person wearing a leather bodysuit in like ... 106 degrees," she wittily replied, "I'm blonde. What's your excuse?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" a voice rang out in our ears, "Stop arguing. My GPS scanner says that you're standing in front of the entrance. I'll be able to guide you guys, as soon as you walk through."

Barth startled all of us. We flashed our lights on the tunnel walls, but no opening was in sight.

"There's no door, Barth," Ali quickly notified him.

"It might be hidden," Dexter, one of Gregorio's men on our team, stated as he began kicking random areas of the wall.

"I'll send Aria a message to let her know what's going on, before I totally lose signal. I don't want her to get too worried, if she can't get in contact with us." Spencer said, swiftly gliding her thumbs over the screen of her iPhone.

_DONG!_ ... A heavy metallic sound rattled through the air, after Dexter hit against the wall which separated the tunnels. _What the hell? -A is really clever._

"Jackpot, bastards!" Jesse, one of Gregorio's men from Spencer's team, proudly yelled in his Russian accent, high-fiving Dexter.

_Zzz ... Zzz ..._ a phone vibrated again. I watched as Spencer took hers out, reading a message.

"Aria is insisting that she meets us here," she frowned.

"It's not safe for her and Jake to come alone," I disagreed.

"Yeah, I'd rather her stay with Gregorio." Ali added, glancing at Spencer's phone, "tell her that she'll have to sit out on this mission and we'll call her ASAP."

Spencer nodded, typing a reply to our brunette friend. Meanwhile, Caleb and Toby were trying to figure out how to access the door.

"Wait a second, guys. Did you see that?" Hanna furrowed her eyebrows.

I looked in the direction where her eyes were glued on, seeing nothing but a brick wall.

"What, Han?" I asked in confusion.

She walked closer to the wall, gently palming it. Upon contact, a portion of it rippled beneath her hands. It looked like rain drops in a puddle.

"-A cloaked the fricking door!" she loudly whispered.

"Great," I expressed sarcastically, "Now, how are we going to get in?"

"Voila!" Barth unexpectedly rang in our ears again. The brick illusion faded into a large metal door.

"You really need to stop doing that, Barth," Ali face palmed herself, "you'll probably kill us by giving us heart attacks, before -A gets a chance to."

"Sorry, Ms. Darkbloom. You know how excited I get about these things," he apologized, "When the doors open, I need all of you to quickly get in. I'll loop the live video stream with the one I just recorded, so that no one will see you guys. Once inside, you'll see a bunch of doors. The 5th door on the left is the equipment room, containing uniforms as well. I suggest that you try your best to fit in. That goes for you too, Hanna."

"Do I look like a beautiful lawn in the middle of a park? Why is everyone picking on me?" She scoffed.

"Hanna ..." Spencer trailed off.

"What?" she snapped back.

"... nothing. Let's just go," she answered.

The doors opened up, revealing white walls and tiled floors. It had this eerie resemblance to the_ Southwest Medical Center_, where we took Aria after Ezra tried to harm her. _Is this a coincidence? _or better yet,_ is anything ever a coincidence?_ We briskly walked down the halls with the entrance automatically closing behind us. Barth had failed to mention the fact that the doors were super spaced out from one another. I felt like I stepped into a sci-fi movie because of the harsh lighting and everything being so ... colorless.

Anet slyly scanned the sector, while walking. She halted into an abrupt stop, before pulling us into the equipment room.

"Shhh," she breathed, placing her index finger on her pouty lips. Muffled voices followed outside the door, after a brief moment of silence. _Phew, that was close. _

Someone switched the lights on, when we heard footsteps fleeing from the halls. Upon glancing around, I realized the room was bigger than I expected. Unlike the hallways, the walls were a rather brown or a rather earthy color and the floors were leaden. Tall shelves towered to the ceiling, housing a wide array of medical and experimental apparatuses. There were also tall closets, probably housing the uniforms on the opposite side of the room.

"I wonder what they're doing with all of these doohickeys," Jesse crinkled his nose, soaking in the view.

Toby picked up a tattered trephine, "Boring holes in people's skulls, I assume."

"Blimey! You say that as if it's perfectly normal," Samara uttered with a faint shocked expression, "you'd think this place is a hospital."

"Technically it's a human research center," Anet clarified, smiling knowingly, "... the evil villain kind."

Terrance, the other guy on our team, opened one of the closets confirming my theory. He stepped aside, moving his attention back to us as an all-inclusive selection of uniforms displayed, "whatever it is, we need to change before someone waltz in here and I have to kill them."

_Yikes! Shit just got real._

We scrambled, snatching random uniforms. Of course Hanna grabbed a white coat and a stethoscope. Terrance and Dexter wore security uniforms, while the rest of us wore scrubs choosing between surgical masks and hats. The weapons were surprisingly easy to conceal, since everything fitted so loosely.

Dominic was the first to walk through the door, followed by Jesse. They both motioned for us to trail behind them. My heartbeat steadily increased, the further we walked into the complex. One by one, actual employees passed along the way, travelling in the opposite direction, not bothering to stop and question us. I guess the disguise was really paying off, but it didn't make me feel any less tense.

"Take the upcoming turn to the right and keep going straight ahead. It'll eventually lead to the main area." Barth instructed.

Upon following the instructions and taking the right turn, the lights began flickering. A ball rolled out of one of the rooms and a little boy ran after it. He looked around the age of 5 years old. His hair styled in a bowl cut and he was wearing khaki shorts, a red polo shirt and light-up sneakers. When he finally got the ball in his grasp, he looked up at us, meeting our gaze. Something sinister gleamed in his eyes and he flashed a face splitting grin. A cold layer of air slithered down back, causing the hairs on my neck to stand to attention.

"Why did you guys stop?" Barth curiously asked. Realization then suddenly hit me. _This can't be real._

The boy lowered the ball back to the ground, moving closer to where we stood frozen. His walk turned into a hop. His hop turned into a dancing circular movement, as he yelled in a sing-songy rhythm, "this place has a doctor and his name is Rendell. Stay away from his office, 'cause he's the doctor from hell. He killed all his patients, every last one. And cut out their hearts ... purely for fun. So if you're from here and you get sick, fall on your knees and pray you die quick."

_Zzzapp!_ ... The sound of a light bulb blowing out instantaneously emitted after the boy's last word. The power seemed to momentarily surge. When it returned, I could have sworn that I saw him walk through a wall, but one thing that I was sure of, he nor his ball was in front of us anymore.

"What's up with polka-haunt-us? I did not sign up for this!" Jesse commented, holding a hand to his chest.

"No one told me we were going to Mali-BOO," Dexter nudged against him, laughing like this was some joke.

"We're not here to play around. That was serious," Ali sternly asserted, "cut it out!"

"Yeah, what Jack-O'-Lantern said!" Hanna piped in, earning a glare from her.

* * *

><p>It felt like we were walking in circles. Everything looked identical—even the people. But maybe I was just being paranoid. The white panels soon grew into glass barriers, showcasing a number of stainless steel surgical tables with strong restraints. <em>What if the ghost boy was warning us?<em>

Out of the blue, a deafening, masculine scream tore through the thinly veiled silence, making us cringe, though it didn't seem to phase passersby. It looked as if it was the norm around here.

"What the hell was that?" Caleb asked in a low voice, trying to find the source of the disruption.

"Sounds like it's coming from further down the hall," I voiced my thoughts.

You'd think something like that, would cause us to steer clear of the region it originated from, but we headed straight towards it. On arrival, a doctor was behind the glass walls, writing something on a clip board. A poorly clad man laid on the table with the restraints tightly holding him down. His cries for help failed to cease, though they weren't as loud as before. Quite a few monitoring devices surrounded him, some of which I've never seen before.

We watched as the doctor laid his clip board down, retrieving a syringe filled with an unknown liquid from a plastic container. He held the screaming man's head and injected the substance into his temple area. His body instantly fell limp; the piercing noise now only an echo. _Is he—_

A tap on my shoulder not only interrupted my thoughts, but caused me to let out an involuntary shriek. I turned around, meeting the face of an olive skin woman. She was dressed in scrubs as well, holding a folder filled with what appeared to be fliers, but she looked rather lost.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she quickly apologized, "My name is Natalya. I'm one of the new doctor's assistants here. Ms. Lily wanted me to pass these out." She handed a flier to each one of us, "it's the daily community news."

_Lily ... Lily ... where have I heard that name before?_

"Thank you, Natalya." I gave her a small smile, hoping she wouldn't notice the agitation behind it. She returned the smile, nodding at us before walking away to continue and pass out fliers.

"We should keep moving before that happens again," Spencer noted.

"Yeah, the last thing we need is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde over there getting his hands on us," Toby said half-jokingly, motioning towards the doctor who seemed to be injecting more unknown substances into the now unconscious man.

"Trust me, we're the last thing on his mind right now," Anet stated matter-of-factly, while we continued walking, "remember Project Artichoke, Ali?"

"That's what he's doing?" she responded, obviously alarmed.

"What's ... Project Artichoke?" Hanna struggled to repeat the name.

"It's a human research experiment. Basically mind control," she answered, "they enter a bunch of drugs into your blood stream and see how your body reacts to it. Eventually, it alters your mental state and brain functions, causing you to be some sort of robot."

"So, they're basically re-engineering humans?" Spencer clarified.

"Yes, Spence. If that's how you want to put it." Ali nodded, staring at the floor in deep thought, "The person will wake up feeling normal, but certain things will trigger them to do whatever they're programmed to. In our case, it would be -A's minions trying to kill us. And judging by the looks of it, they're taking innocent people and turning them into ax murderers."

_Okay, now I really feel like I'm deep into some crazy Sci-Fi movie. _

Finally after what felt like forever, we were approaching the entrance into the main area. It was huge, almost like an arena. The circular walls looked like they were carved out of sedimentary rocks. I believe it was safe to assume that this was the heart of the mountain; the heart of the Athena Organization. This place was at least 5 stories tall and had a bunch of doors that led to God-knows-what. Several computers and machinery filled the center, with few employees operating them.

"Either the blueprint had a major error, or -A totally redesigned this place without the city knowing," Spencer noted.

"Definitely," Ali agreed, "this is going to be a slight disadvantage."

"I'll guide you guys, using what I can map out from the security footage," Barth joined in the conversation, "but I would suggest that you split up again, to cover more ground."

"I was thinking the same thing," Dexter added. We all nodded along. It seemed like the best option at the moment.

"This might be the last time that you see me," Anet said to Samara, smirking, "Maybe we should kiss ..."

Samara rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, "Nice try, Casanova. We're on the same team."

"It was worth the try," she shrugged, chuckling.

* * *

><p>Terrance and Dexter were guiding us to the 3rd floor, using Barth's directions. We were heading towards one of the four rooms in which Barth suspected to be -A's main office. While we approached, a chorus of voices became more and more evident. Upon entering, it was obvious that this wasn't an office. It looked sort of like a temple. They had a large, wooden owl sitting in the center of the room, encircled by a group of people wearing black robes. Two tiers overlooked the sector, seated by people wearing formal outfits complimented by ... <em>animal masks? What the hell is this?<em>

"What's going on?" Barth asked. There weren't any security cameras in this room, for reasons that seemed obvious to us now, so he wasn't able to assist us at all in here.

"Thanks to you, we get front row seats to a freak show. Yay ..." Hanna sarcastically responded.

"And we might be the guests of honor," Ali commented, frowning as a security guard approached us.

"Ladies and gentle men!" a morphed voice announced through hidden speakers, "we are here to honor our recent achivements in the human research field, thanks to the Owl God, for blessing us with otherwordly knowledge. We have a number of sacrifices lined up to celebrate these breakthroughs."

His ridiculous occult-ish speech continued, sickening me to my stomach. Are these people brainwashed? Can't they hear the obvious bull that he's selling to them?

The security guard finally reached, eyeing us cautiously. Without a word, he extended his hand to me. _Does he want ... a handshake or something? Can he even talk? _I arched an eyebrow, meeting his hand with mine to engage in a firm handshake. He crinkled his forehead, widening his eyes.

"INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS!" He yelled. _What the hell? How do you fail a fricking handshake?_

The team and I exchanged worrying glances. The onlookers scrammed out of their previous positions, running towards us. We quickly ran out the door, trying to find somewhere to hide. _Shit! _

I turned around, noticing that I was far ahead of everyone, even my team. The adrenaline rushing through my veins made me feel as if I were gliding on ear. I couldn't feel my legs. I turned back around and—

_BAP!_ ... something blunt hit me in the face. I slipped onto the ground, hitting my head once more. My vision became blurry as a thick, red liquid leaked onto the floor. My sense of hearing soon followed, but I was sure I vaguely heard Barth screaming to Spencer's team to find us. I believe someone was dragging my body somewhere as well, but I wasn't sure ... about that ... or anything at all, to be honest. The only thing that mattered to me right now, was if Alison was okay. _I love you, Ali ... _that the last thought before my eyes closed, drifting into an unconsciousness.

* * *

><p><strong>P.S. | <strong>_That awkward moment when your word count was "1666", after the scene with the creepy kid. CHILLS, I tell you! I'd like to give a special thank you to endgAmeXbitches. If you haven't read "Aftermath of 4x24: 'A is for Answers', The Evolution of Emison", check it out. It's basically a continuation of the season finale, along with plausible theories for the show. (: Also, as usual, thank you to BrittzandTana for her undying support and for penning one of the best, if not THE best Emison fic here, "Let Me Love You". All I have to say is 'The Fluff is real'. And last, but not least, Thanks to alicialincoln (her Emison fic "Endgame" is delicious!) and sashahxlic for reviewing. To HowAboutForever, I have an awesome idea for Samara and Anet, don't worry! (; On another note, I've literally read every Emison fic out there, so if you guys want me to, I can give a suggestion every chapter. Let me know!_


	22. Body of Lies

**A/N: **_Sorry about the super late update. I'm over my writers block, but procrastination along with the help of "QuizUp", has plagued my mind. I really, really want to drag this drama and supsense out for a little while longer, but I'm running out of rope. Get what I mean? Yeah? Yeah? Okay. Lol. I'm exploring a different writing format for this chapter, so let me know if you like it. Enjoy! _

**Alison's POV**

Slides of horrendous images glided across my retina in a painstakingly, slow motion, as I watched one of our merciless attackers drag Emily's unconscious body across the leaden floor. I inwardly prayed that this was all just a horrible nightmare, only to have a barbarous jab to my already slacked jaw confirm that this was real; this was happening now and I had to take initiative. My delayed perception of time instantly fast-forwarded, bringing me back to the proper pace of things.

The adrenaline violently surging through my veins numbed every hit that I've sustained thus far, but it wasn't enough for the raw, inconsolable organ that now is my heart. It felt like an unsharpened scalpel tortured the appendage, deeply inserting it's dull tip to lance a thousand minuscule lacerations, all sorely throbbing against my chest.

_This ... this is all my fault._ I mentally repeated, over and over again.

Another jab from behind woke up an angered alter-ego from the darkest depths of my soul, which I didn't know existed until this very moment. Rage, temporarily set to simmer, began to boil. I withdrew my Beretta M9 from the holster beneath my scrubs, dexterously taking it off safety and fatally shooting both my assaulters in a matter of seconds. Their heavy bodies crashed to the floor with a powerful clunk. Numerous individuals scattered, retreating in the opposite direction of the onslaught. In order to avoid further rearward attacks, I pushed my back against the wall, moving my aim to the aggressors taking advantage of my team.

"Use your weapons!" I yelled in an authoritative tone to them.

Hanna took out a sharp knife, kicking a hooded man in his stomach to distance him from her, and proceeded to lunge the blade through his chest. Terrance and Dexter tagged team, holding one of the men while the other pummeled his face ceaselessly to a pulp. Caleb, on the other hand, was having a hard time defending himself against three aggressors. I shot one of them in the head, giving him time to pull out his double pistols, which he used to clumsily shoot the remaining two men. A bullet went jaggedly through one of the their necks and another went through the other man's temple. The scene looked like a blood bath, with expansive splatters covering both the floor and the wall.

Conveniently, my alter-ego was still blood thirsty as a new wave of robed men and hooded figures ascended from the first floor, making their way towards us. I returned my M9 to the holster and exchanged it with my MP5K-PDW, a military grade sub-machine gun.

I bit my lip, holding down the trigger and unleashing my wrath at the horde. Expended shell casings riddled the ground, followed by an equal amount of bodies forming a pile along the staircase. Caleb joined in on the gunfire, now having a steady aim, along with Terrance. Dexter and Hanna used knives to take down the others who got past the field of bullets. I was surprised that Hanna was handling the situation like a professional. She didn't even flinch or hesitate to counterattack.

As the number of attackers declined, I motioned towards the door that I believe Emily was taken. We cautiously ran towards it, glancing at each open door that we passed along the way, just in case someone was planning on ambushing us. _So far, so well._ I thought to myself. When we got inside, it was pitch black, much like the tunnels. I locked the door, letting Dexter search for a light switch.

"Found it," he announced in hush tones, flicking it on.

No one was expecting the scene that immediately flooded through our widened eyes. About ten large, glass tubes filled with some kind of translucent, green-ish liquid extended from the floor, all the way up to the ceiling; five on the left and five on the right. But that wasn't the shocking part. There were ... what appeared to be adult sized humans suspended in them, all in a fetal position. Metallic umbilical cords protruded from the base of their necks, to the top of the tanks.

"What the ... hell?" Caleb voiced our thoughts.

"Is it weird in here, or is it just me?" Hanna arched an eyebrow.

"You weren't kidding when you said they were doing human research here," Terrance added, waving his hand in disapproval, "this is some straight up Sci-Fi shit!"

"Aww, is Terry actually scared?" Dexter taunted, as if he were talking to a child. Terrance flipped the bird towards him, but he immediately returned a come-back, "wow, you finally took that finger out of your arse!"

I shook my head, blocking their conversation out of my mind, though I saw Hanna silently chuckling at the exchange of insults. I dragged her along with me to further explore the area.

_There has to be some door inside here, leading to another room. _

As we walked deeper into the chamber, I noticed a table filled with test tubes. All of the caps were color coded and had a doctor's crooked handwriting on them. I examined the labels, noting that they contained both drugs, including _LSD, MK-Search, Morphine, Marijuana, Sodium Pentothal, Ergin_, and deadly viruses, such as_ Ebola, Small Pox, Ebolapox, Cholera, TB, Rabies, Rice Blast, Rinderpest, Botulinum Toxin and the Bubonic Plauge_.

"Are they seriously using these on people?" Hanna shrieked.

"Yeah and by the look of everything, they're experimenting on plants and animals too ..." I simply answered. _Why did they have all of these things? This doesn't make any sense. And these hybrid-looking human beings are creeping the hell out of me. _Though, these thoughts were the least of my worries. I needed to find Emily, before they turned her into one of these human guinea pigs.

"There's a door over there," Caleb pointed out. I glanced in the direction, seeing a door that was masked with an identical design as the walls. If you weren't paying attention, you'd never guess that it was there.

"Let's go," I whispered to the guys, whom were still sharing insulting remarks.

Terrance was the first to open the door, while Dexter jumped in, determining if it was safe or not. He signaled with one of his hands for us to follow, after a beat. As we walked in, the door automatically closed behind us, making a loud noise.

_Shit! _I mentally face-palmed myself.

"Possible adversaries stemming from the left sector!" Barth yelled in our ears, startling us once again.

_Ssstt _... a steaming sound resonated across the room.

A thick wall of smoke emerged from the floor thereafter, painfully tightening my throat on contact and burning my eyes. As a small, circular object came into sight, I noticed that the smoke was originating from it. I kicked the object towards the left side of the room and opened fire in the direction. My teammates were gasping for air, holding their necks with both hands. I don't know which ran out first—the oxygen or the bullets. I wasn't sure whether or not my bullets caught anyone either.

The only thing I was certain of, is that I blacked out. My heavy eyelids were now struggling to open, as if they were firmly shut for an extended period of time, possibly due to swelling. I even tried moving my arms, along with my legs, but they refused to budge. Glancing down, I found the source of my restriction; I was tied to chair. Panicking, I scanned the area and saw that my team were all in restraints as well. It would be safe to assume that we passed out and were brought here. A lock of raven-hair caught my attention, _Emily's in here too!_ She looked dazed and confused, pivoting her head around it's axis in a circular motion, completely lost to the world. I tried screaming—nothing came out. The pain quickly returned within my throat, choking me.

_What have they done to her? ... What have they done to us?_

Not only was my heart aching at this point, but a nauseating feeling now stirred within my stomach. Self-blame tormented my mind. What could I have possibly done in the past, to anger someone this much? None of this made any sense. And ... Emily, I promised her that I would take care of her and keep her away from any danger. Now, look at what -A has done to her!

* * *

><p><em><strong>FLASH BACK<strong>_

I tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position to fall asleep in, but I was restless. I laid on my back, throwing the covers off of me and stared at the ceiling.

_This is going to be a long night, _I thought to myself, sighing.

Finally giving up on sleep, I got out of my bed and walked over to the room where Emily was sleeping in. Upon entering, I took a moment to admire how the moonlight shining through the window seemed to have it's spotlight on her. She was sound asleep with a smile plastered across her face, enveloping the pillow beneath her head. _Dreaming of me,_ I hoped. Her features were illuminated, giving her a glow that would make anyone think that she was an angel. Which, technically, she was—she's my heaven on earth, after all. Breaking out of my daze, I quietly sat beside her, stroking her hair. The corner of my lips involuntarily curled upwards, as bliss filled everything within, even in between the spaces of my ribs. Emily was ... is ... and forever will be ... the embodiment of euphoria.

It irked me that it took such a huge argument earlier, for me to finally spill my heart out to her. I was so accustomed to writing my fondness of her in my journal, which I bought solely for that purpose, that when it came time to actually put a voice to these words of affection, I didn't know where to start. When I saw her getting frustrated at my hesitation to answer her question and threatening to leave, that jump-started a whirl of raw emotions. I've never felt so vulnerable in my life, but if I had let her leave, something inside me would be lost forever—something in which I couldn't afford to lose.

"What are you looking at?" She asked in a raspy voice drenched in sleep, rustling the sheets that covered her, while shifting closer to me.

"The person I want to spend the rest of my life with, I believe," I chuckled lowly, "but now your boobs has all my attention."

Emily quickly covered her chest and hit me with a pillow, "you're such a perv!"

"But you love me!" I dodged her attack, laughing harder, "now that you're awake, can I take you somewhere?"

"Do you see what time it is?" she arched an eyebrow, trying to sound serious, "you're not going to drag me off into the woods and kill me, are you?"

"As tempting at that sounds, I want to take you to the beach. The sun is going to be up in 2 hours and I want to watch it with you." I answered, sincerely gazing into her chocolate eyes and caressing her cheek with my thumb.

Though the room was dimly lit, the rush of color to her cheeks was obvious, "only because you asked nicely," she grinned widely, causing my heart to flutter. It felt beyond words, to know that we were on better terms now.

"Let's get ready," I leaned in and pecked her on the lips, "unless you want to be on the beach in _PowerPuff Girls_ pajamas."

"It's Victoria Secret, for your information," she corrected me, "but I'll change and meet you downstairs."

"Can't I stay and watch?" I pouted.

"Not tonight," Emily laughed at the gesture, pushing me out of the room, "downstairs!" she instructed, closing the door afterwards.

"Oh, feisty. Me likey!" I yelled, knowing she heard but chose to ignore me.

I scurried back to the den, quickly changing into shorts and a tank top. I grabbed a small box containing a gift I bought for Emily earlier and a jacket, just in case it was cold outside. I mentally brewed a plan, to make sure everything would be perfect. I couldn't wait to surprise Em. When I was done, I ran downstairs and waited for her to finally emerge. She only took 10 minutes longer than I did, but it felt like forever.

Before we both knew it, we were in the G55 AMG driving towards the beach and listening to the _Jhené Aiko_ station on _Pandora_.

"Um, I think you're going the wrong direction," Emily commented, staring through the window.

"No, we're not," I smirked knowingly, sliding my free hand to interlock our fingers, "I'm taking you to a _private_ beach." I had the urge to call her _'babe'_,but I didn't want to scare her off—all the more reason to make it official, when we arrive at our destination.

"Don't tell me you bought a beach too," she said, turning her attention to me, though it sounded more like a question.

"The closest thing that I have to a beach, is a private island," I replied matter-of-factly, "I'm carrying you to Mr. Moretz's beach. He gave me full access, after our first few business ventures together. But I've never had a reason to use it, until now."

"A private island? We could have gone there instead!" Emily feigned disappointment, but a smile was tugging at her lips.

"Please. You were scared to get into a vehicle with me behind the wheel, much less a plane." I teased.

"Shut up and drive," she playfully hit my arm.

"Whatever you say, Rihanna."

The rest of the drive was peaceful. We occasionally sang along horridly with our favorite songs and exchanged embarrassing stories. Due to the fact that I lived on the outskirts of Riverhaven, everything was practically an hour away. When we arrived, the night sky was already navy blue, signalling that the sun was threatening to rise soon. The white sand was complimented by the sea, which happened to be calm and beautifully glimmering with the remaining stars. _This is perfect!_

I led Emily to a Tiki Hut in the middle of the beach. We sat on a picnic blanket that laid immediately outside of it, enjoying the sound of nearby birds chirping and waves crashing. Anxiety nestled in the pit of my stomach, as the words that I've practiced over and over again in the mirror climbed up my throat, pressing to choke me. _This was much easier to do, in my head._

"I can see the little vein in your forehead sticking out. Are you okay?" she asked, concern coursing in her eyes. When we made eye contact, my heart fluttered once more and my anxiety ricocheted.

"I love you, Emily," I blurted out, rambling, "sooo ... much it hurts. Whenever you smile or laugh ... or play with your fingers, when you get nervous, I-I can't help but think about how cute you look. Even after all of these years, I've never fell out of love with you; only fell deeper. W-what I'm trying to say is, w-will you be my girlfriend? I promise I'll take good care of you and keep you away from harm. I know it's soon, but I—"

A pair of lips crashing into mine, interrupted my speech. I quickly reciprocated, wrapping my arms around her neck. The fireworks erupting within, gave the impression that it was the Fourth of July, while butterflies flew freely, replacing my anxiety. Her tongue encircled the bottom of my lip asking for entrance. I parted my lips, granting her permission and deepened the kiss, allowing our tongues to duel. Shivers ran down my spine, when she tugged against my lip and slid her hands under my tank top. _God, that went straight to my core._

"Is that a yes?" I breathlessly asked, after we pulled away.

"Ali, we belonged to each other, before we even knew it." she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, flashing a ravishing smile that made her dimples take centre stage, "but yes! Yes a million times!"

To say that I'm happy, would be the understatement of the year. I planted kisses all over her face, before finally pecking her on the lips. Even though I knew she would say yes, the window of possibility that she would turn me down lurked in the dark. I rested my forehead against hers and stared in her eyes.

"I think my heart's going to explode," I whispered.

"Mine too," she replied, leaning in to kiss me again as if she was drowning and I was air. It soon turned into a make out session, with the rising sun and the birds as our witnesses.

* * *

><p><strong>Spencer's POV<strong>

"Why didn't you listen to me Barth?!" Anet shouted to him, frustrated. They were arguing when he notified us that Emily was taken hostage.

"Because your claims were ludicrous!" he defended himself, trying to reason with her, "if I knew psychics weren't all scammers, I would have relayed the message. You sounded like you were describing a scene from a fricking Sci-Fi movie!"

"You bloody arsehole! I hope when all of this is over, you get fired." She hissed, "Haven't you heard the phrase, _better safe than sorry_? When we get out of this, I'll personally go to your office and put your head on stick!"

We were walking out of the room that we searched to find Big -A, trying not to draw too much attention to ourselves. It turned out to be a huge library, with no hidden doors or clues. Personally, I felt like Barth was intentionally leading us to dead ends. From the get-go, none of our plans worked and they found Ali's team too easily. As we got into the main room, it looked like a war went down. The staircase was daubed with blood and bodies. Other than that it looked completely abandoned. I wasn't going to put my guard down, though. I held my _Desert Eagle .50 Cal _tightly, ready to shoot anyone that tried to attack us.

"They're on the third floor, last door on the right," Barth directed, ignoring Anet's threats. _That sounds a little too easy._

Jesse and Dominic went ahead of us, clearing the way. Toby, Samara, Anet and I followed not too far behind. The suspense built with every tier we climbed. This place was flooded with a lot of employees not too long ago, and now it's a dead zone—literally and figuratively. _Where could all of them have gone so quickly? _

Upon reaching outside the door that Barth said our friends were being held captive, the suspense reached an all time high. My palms began to sweat and my nerves were shaken. We all held our weapons up. Toby silently counted down from 3, and when he reached 1, Dominic and Jesse savagely kicked the door down. We stormed in, aiming in different directions.

"It seems like the rest of our guests have arrived," a woman wearing a black veil noted, not phased by our guns. Her voice was strangely familiar.

"Look at this wanker!" Jesse furrowed his eyebrows, tightening his grip on his pistol, "I believe Halloween's over, but if you're really that ugly to wear something like that, keep it on."

"I've met bunny slippers more intimidating than you," she countered, "now all of you, take a seat or I'll be forced to tie you up, like the others."

I glanced over, observing that Ali's entire team were in restraints, but Emily seemed like she was on another planet. _Should we just shoot her? or hear what she has to say?_

"Keep rolling your eyes, Hanna. Maybe you'll find a brain back there," she added menacingly.

"This bitch wants to kill us!" Anet crinkled her nose in disgust.

"This one hears the whispers," the woman pointed to her, "the forbidden knowledge. She knows too much."

"Why don't you slip into something more comfortable? ... Like a coma." Anet suggested mockingly, tilting her head and faking a smile.

"Give us one reason why we shouldn't kill you right here and now," I demanded.

As if on cue, a woman in a red coat walked in. She looked exactly like the woman Anet described to Mr. Gedaminsky, the sketch artist.

"Because you won't find out who this girl is," she answered in a sombre tone, as if she was speaking about a very important matter, "aren't you curious about the reason why I've tortured you all for years?"

A group of hooded figures appeared out of no where, guarding the walls. At this point, I didn't know how this was going to end, but we came here to find answers and we weren't going to leave without them. It's been too long.

* * *

><p><strong>P.S. | <strong>_Dun dun dunnnn! The feedback from last chapter was bloody wicked! A lot of new readers, whom I am tremendously grateful for. (: I've read all your suggestions and I'm taking them into consideration. Hope the Emison flashback was enough for now. _

_Also, I'm now on twitter AsaMoritz, with much convincing. Feel free to follow, tweet questions and all that jazz. (: _

_To __alisondilaurentis96__, I'm glad to have you back, muse! (; To i__sashapieterse__, glad you're enjoying Sanet's flirtationship; more to come soon! (; To __endgAmeXbitches__, you're swelling my ego. To __BrittzandTana__, how's the creep factor for this chapter? :p I'll forever give you shout-outs. Haha. You're the best, mate! To __Shyanne (Guest)__, glad that you're enjoying the fic. (: To __IntelligentPrincess__, you're absolutely on the right path with your interpretations. Your question will be answered next chapter. To __teamhannily__, haha glad you're enjoying the technological aspect of the story. I'm always inventing things in my head, so that helps a lot. I'd like to say thank you to everyone else that reviewed, faved,/followed! I appreciate every single one of you guys. _

_This week's Emison FanFic suggestion is "Behind Closed Doors" by __SpeakingOfInfinity__. If you haven't read it before, you're really missing out. It's extraordinarily eerie and impeccably written! _

_xoxoAli__, if you're reading this, where's your fic "Moving Backward", mate? I absolutely loved it!_


	23. Pandora's Box

**A/N: **_To __Jojothetacocat__ and anyone else wondering, yes, I'm from the UK. (: I changed the summary for this fic, if you haven't noticed. I'd love to hear if you guys think it's suitable or not. Also, I know that I usually switch between Emily's and Alison's POV, but due to Emily's current condition and the seriousness of this chapter, I've decided to stick with Ali's for the time being. This was originally longer, but I shortened the chapter. Hope you enjoy!_

**Alison's POV**

Being taunted and trapped in restraints had me absolutely_ fuming_. I was sure the rage reflected Hell's flames within my eyes, at the sight of this woman in a black veil. _Who the hell is she, anyway?_ She provocatively sashayed in like she didn't have a care in the world—which she probably didn't, if she indeed was the person in charge of this mockery of a C.I.A. research center. Only a callous tyrant would enjoy seizing innocent civilians from their ordinary lives and families, only to selfishly transform them into guinea pigs and mindless puppets.

"Guards!" She alerted the hooded figures whom suddenly appeared, after Spencer's team raised their weapons, "Please lead these lovely individuals to their seats. Make sure they're _really _comfortable."

I watched as they robotically approached them. Jesse was about to shoot, but Spencer raised her hand, signalling for him to drop his weapon. She willingly took a seat beside me, with a bitter expression coursing her features. Dominic crinkled his nose in disgust at the guard forcefully shoving him into a chair. Anet kicked, wriggled and spewed insults as two guards firmly lifted her off the ground, carrying her to sit opposite Toby. When they proceeded to do the same to Samara, Anet glowered at them infuriatingly. All the lights in the room immediately dimmed, followed by the sound of a row of glasses shattering in a distance. The hooded men wasted no time to strap the remainder of Spencer's team in restraints as well.

"Looks like we've found the clairvoyant's achilles heel," the veiled woman grinned wickedly, flipping a switchblade open, "what about you ... Alison? You've eluded us for some years now and frankly, I'm hurt!" She placed a hand on her chest, feigning disappointment.

"Obviously not hurt enough," I tilted my head, mocking a smile, "Do us all a favor and kill yourself!"

She mimicked my expression, walking over to the now dazed Emily and hovered the blade over her face, "oh, honey, if I wanted to kill myself, I'd climb your ego and jump to your IQ. Besides, this is _way _more fun ..."

"Don't you dare!" I warned, clenching my fists and lounging forward only to be forcibly drawn back by the restraints.

"But look! Emily seems to be enjoying it," she gestured to the face splitting grin forming on Emily's face as the woman grazed the tip of the knife down her neck, leaving a streak of blood in its wake.

A new level of anger was bestowed upon me; I was _livid_. My blood felt like it was literally boiling beneath my skin, ready to erupt into an unknown rage. Something shined, briefly distracting me, now causing tears to prick behind my eyes at the sight of it—the Amethyst ring I gave her the night we made our relationship official. I chose the stone, because apart from protecting it's bearer, it's believed to strengthen love and promote happiness. I wasn't particularly a believer in such things, but in this moment, I hoped that it was doing it's job or was at least giving me some sign of hope.

"You have your audience, now tell us what you have against us," Hanna snapped, her eyes flashing and closing into slits.

"Tsk, tsk. Always the eager woman, aren't you?" she shook her head, walking beside Caleb, "I'm glad to see that you traded in the extra chin for a neck, Hanna."

The girl in the red coat began chuckling. This was the first sound that I've heard her make, since she entered the room. She was otherwise strangely quiet and Hanna was now fuming at the insult.

"Leave her alone," Caleb demanded through gritted teeth.

"You know, Caleb, you look like the kind of guy with a landmine in his pants," she made dramatic pause, trailing a hand up his forearm, "you know ... small, hidden and explodes on impact."

"Are you always this annoying, or is that just your personality?" Spencer jeered, interrupting. The woman's smirk faded into a death glare, "cut to the chase and tell us who you are."

"Stephanie Țepeș-Dracul, descendant of _Vlad the Impaler _himself," she answered proudly, after regaining her tyrannical composure, "but I'm not the one that you should be wondering about."

"She's Lily, isn't she?" Anet hissed, turning to the girl in the red coat, "you're just as cruel as your mother over here."

Lily frowned at her belligerently in response, face now contorted into an image of perfect rage.

"If only Aria were here," Stephanie chuckled, "I applaud how quickly you all came to her rescue, though I'm not sure how you girls found out where I was stationed. I assume it's because of your gypsy girl."

"What about Aria?" I asked cautiously, ignoring her supposed _'compliment'_.

"Yeah, what about her?" Hanna furrowed her eyebrows.

"All of you thought this was all about Alison, this entire time," her chuckle grew into a menacing laughter, "that little brunette bitch took_ everything _away from Lily and I."

"Aria took something from someone?" Spencer laughed incredulously, voicing our thoughts, "are you sure you have the right brunette in mind?"

"Seriously, you might want Spencer instead. She's notorious for taking other people's men," Hanna jested. Toby and Spencer immediately beamed at her.

"Tell them," Anet ordered hotly, her lips in a firm line. Whatever Stephanie was thinking, clearly didn't sit well with the young psychic.

"Since you know everything, why don't you tell them?" she said crossly.

"Aren't you a little too old to be acting so immature?" Toby asked in all seriousness.

Stephanie became seemingly irritated, raising the pitch of her voice, "23 years ago, I became pregnant with Lily. When I told Byron, he thought that I was pulling the wool over his eyes, since he was already threatening to break up with me," she paused, maneuvering beside the girl in the red coat, "I guess that sealed the deal for him. He left that day and never looked back. I tried calling him _so_ many times, but he never picked up, even after I gave birth to her. I found out that he got married a month later and had another baby on the way. I was _furious_! I promised myself that I'd make his life a living hell."

"Sorry, but what does this have to do with us?" Caleb quizzed, the rest of us simply nodded along. I wasn't buying her sob story, especially since anger was still brewing deep within me after what she did to Emily only moments ago.

"What doesn't it have to do with you guys?" Lily finally spoke, sending shivers down my spine. Among other apparent similarities, her voice was strikingly reminiscent of Aria's, "I've grimly resented my father for disowning me, since I can remember. I grew up with nothing but hate consuming me, but instead of taking it out on myself, I decided to use it to my advantage. What better way to stick it to him, than making my sister's life a living hell, even if it meant getting her friends involved? When I met Mona for the first time and learnt what she was doing to you, Alison, I just had to take over. She was being way too lenient for my liking."

"So you instituted a hierarchy, using your family's captives, to make this sick game more dangerous," Spencer concluded, "Anet's right, you're just as cruel as your godforsaken mother!"

"But I'm not half as merciful as her. I'll enjoy slowly torturing each and everyone of you until the very brink of death. And when I'm done, I might even have the courtesy to mail an organ to your families as a souvenir, just like what I did to dear old Ezra. He was pretending to be me to lure Aria in. He even threatened me that he'd notify her of my existence that night, and you know I wasn't going to let that happen at all. Maybe I'll kill her in the same manner as I did him, as soon as I'm done with all of you." she darkly replied, her lips curled downward into a hellish snarl.

"And I thought Calypso sounded crazy," Hanna muttered under her breath, "it must run in the family."

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," I quoted. This would explain why most of the recent attacks were directed towards Aria.

Suddenly, shadows eclipsed the lights in the hallway to the door. A breathlessness swept through the air, causing me to force my lungs to take in more oxygen. The lights in the immediate room flickered along, but when they came back on, 5 hooded figures appeared out of the darkness. Stephanie and Lily eyed them suspiciously. A sense of doom now swam freely in my bloodstream and judging by the pale faces beside me, my friends and I shared the exact sentiment.

"I haven't sent for any of you," Stephanie said dismissively, "return to your quarters, before I am forced to penalize each of you."

A sinister chortle followed her order, stemming from one of the figures. She snapped her finger, alerting the guards, whom were already in the room, to approach the group. What we weren't expecting, was for them to take off their hoodies. The guards halted their movement, examining the people who stood in front of them—Aria, Jake and three rather large men sporting C.I.A. bulletproof vests. _'Yes!' _I mentally thanked every deity in existence. This was the happiest I've ever been to see our petite brunette friend.

More C.I.A. men pooled in, along with a few from the RHPD. At the sight of being outnumbered, Stephanie grabbed Lily and ran through a back door. The guards struggled to keep the officers at bay, while they got away. During the scuffle, Aria and Jake jogged towards us, releasing us from the restraints. When I was finally free, I hugged Emily. She was still in a daze. I don't know if she had a concussion or if they drugged her, but my heart felt tortured just seeing her like this.

"-A is getting away!" Spencer yelled, flailing her hands helplessly in the air, "if they're left to freely roam around, they'll make sure we're fricking dead the next time!"

"Let's go, maybe we can catch up with them," Jesse offered.

"Stay put! We have other officials in the complex," an RHPD officer instructed, taking his walkie-talkie, "this is Detective Wilshire. Code 607, I repeat, code 607. The suspects are on foot, possibly heading to the west exit. Over."

"Copy that," a voice responded through the speaker.

"Emily?" I whispered.

"Allliiiii ...es that yewww?" she slurred, barely opening her eyes, "I-I-I'm ssssary!"

"Shhh! It's okay, baby. I don't know what's wrong, but I'm here for you," I told her, my voice starting to crack as a tear escaped from the corner of my eye. She looked me straight in the eyes, smiling weakly and placing her hand on my cheek.

The officers now had -A's guards in handcuffs, escorting them to the main area. Hanna helped me carry Emily down the flights of stairs. It was a bit difficult, because she felt heavier than usual for some reason and her sudden movements occasionally threw us off balance.

"This is worst than the time she got super drunk," Hanna commented, while we positioned her to sit down on a bench in the main area.

I arched an eyebrow at her, "Really? When was that?"

"Let's just say she had a really rough time accepting your death," she vaguely replied, "at least you resurrected."

"You make her sound like Jesus," Caleb snickered, walking over to kiss Hanna on the forehead.

I kept quiet, not taking my eye off of Emily. I felt worst knowing that she probably took my disappearance harder than I actually thought she did. _How am I ever going to make that up to her? _

Detective Wilshire came over, frowning, "we haven't seen any signs of both women so far. I'm not sure—"

"Looking for these scoundrels?" a voice interrupted.

I moved my attention to the direction of the voice, feeling my jaw literally drop. _Mona?! _She was standing behind the detective, holding an unconscious Stephanie and Lily by their collars.

"I don't know who you are, but how did you find them?" he asked, looking suspiciously at her.

"They were running through the underground tunnels. I saw them and used this taser," she took out the device, "it's non-lethal and perfectly legal. Don't worry."

The detective shot her one last suspicious glance. Mona smiled sweetly at him, but I didn't trust her one bit. She always seemed to have some ulterior motive up her sleeves. He called over more men and proceeded to handcuff the women. Officials were clearing through every sector, taking samples from the labs, along with doctors, nurses and anyone or anything that they could use for the case along with them.

* * *

><p>After the C.I.A. collected all their evidence, we were ordered to follow the officers to the station, so that we could have our statements taken. Initially, they wanted to personally escort us, but Spencer convinced them that we needed to use our own means of transportation. Anet was able to assist an on-scene paramedic in finding a neutralizer for the unknown drug used on Emily. Thankfully, she didn't have a concussion from getting her head hit so hard. This felt like the longest day of my entire life, but I was just thankful that my girlfriend would be okay.<p>

"Hey, do you think Aria knows ...?" Hanna whispered, trailing off, but I knew exactly what she was referring to. She was sitting in the passenger seat of my vehicle, while Emily laid asleep in the back with Caleb, Dexter and Terrance. Aria was riding along with Spencer and her team, since they had more seats.

"I don't think she heard. She wouldn't have been so happy, if she did," I answered matter-of-factly, focusing on the road.

"You're right," she shrugged, "maybe I should tell her, when we get to the station."

"Only if the time feels right. Unless those detectives beat us to it, that is."

"What are we going to tell them, anyway?"

"The truth and nothing but the truth. I'm tired of lying."

She laughed, "Alison DiLaurentis, mother of lies, actually wants to tell the truth?"

"I'm not the same person that I used to be, you know," I smirked, enjoying the sound of laughter.

"I never got the chance to tell you this, but I'm glad that you're safe," she squeezed my shoulder, "and ... if you ever hurt Emily again in any shape or form, -A, Lily or whatever the hell she wants to call herself, will be the last of your worries!"

"Damn, I guess I can't use those paddles on her in bed anymore," I teased, quickly feeling embarrassed after I remembered we weren't the only ones in the vehicle.

"Woo! More details, please!" Terrance roared loudly from the backseat, causing Emily to stir in her sleep.

Faith must have been conspiring against me, because Rihanna's "S&M" began playing on the radio shortly after. I groaned as Hanna began singing along, nudging suggestively against my arm, joined by Caleb on the chorus. _Ugh, can this drive be any longer? _

xxx

We arrived at the station 25 minutes later—25 whole minutes of torturous, suggestive jokes mostly from Hanna, and the song selections on the radio weren't helping either. The drive would've been shorter, but we had to drop Gregorio's men off at their headquarters along the way. I was never so glad to walk into a station before. Emily had more control of her balance at this point, but she was still recovering. I was able to help her walk on my own now, which made me feel a lot better. The paramedic said that she'd be fully okay by the end of the day, but she needed a lot of rest and liquids.

Detective Wilshire greeted us once more, when we sat down in the waiting room, "I'll be taking each of you ladies' statements one by one. I've already gotten Mona's, so who wants to go next?"

_Of course Mona will try to make herself look innocent_, my subconscious commented distastefully.

"I'll go," I quickly volunteered, before Spencer had the chance to.

"Please follow me, Ms. Darkbloom," he instructed, walking to the interrogation room. I sat up, pecking Emily on her cheek, then followed the detective.

The slate floors and two-paneled walls made me feel like I stepped straight into an episode of _Law & Order: SUV_. I was led through a glass door, into a rather dark room. There wasn't anything in here, other than a table with a recorder sitting in the middle and two chairs. I felt more like a suspect than a victim, at this point, but that was probably just my paranoia getting the best of me. I took a seat, opposite of Detective Wilshire. He pressed play on the recorder and began asking questions he had written down a clipboard, occasionally taking notes.

"Okay, everything seems about right," he stated after I answered everything to his satisfaction. Thankfully, the officials were in the building far longer than we originally thought and had recorded everything -A and her mother had said to us. He then looked back at his clipboard, furrowing his eyebrows at a sudden realization, "but one last question. Why did both women refer to you as 'Alison'?"

_Shit, shit, shit!_ I mentally panicked, involuntarily shaking my left leg, _how am I going to answer this? Isn't it illegal to fake your death? I mean, it wasn't even my idea and technically I didn't have anything to do with it, but should I bring it up? No, no, no. _The gears in my head quickly began rotating, until it generated enough electricity for a light bulb to come on, causing me to remember something. Thank God that I did this along time ago. I never knew that it would've been so helpful in the future.

"I-it's my middle name," I answered nonchalantly, trying to keep my voice steady, "Madison Alison Darkbloom, but my close friends simply call me Ali or Alison."

"Hmm, that rhymes," he cackled at his own joke, "it would help the case a lot, if we can get a copy of your birth certificate."

"Sure, that won't be a problem. I'll have my assistant fax it in as soon as possible," I flashed an award winning fake smile that almost convinced me as well, though I was sort of telling the truth. The first $100,000 that I made in profit from a business venture, went to renewing my identity. At the time, my gut told me to make sure that _'Alison' _was somewhere in my new official name, just in case.

"Well since that's all settled, I'll move on to the rest of your friends, so we can all get the hell out of here," he genuinely returned the smile, shaking my hand.

xxx

Aria was the last to get her statement taken. She took a bit longer than us, probably because they wanted to ask her a few more questions about Ezra. Spencer insisted that it would be better for her to know about Lily now, rather than later. We all knew how mad she would be if she found out we were keeping her in the dark, especially about such a matter, so we didn't really have an option. It was now or never.

"How are you feeling, Em?" Samara asked, propping her elbows on her legs to get a better view from where she sat.

"Much, much better, to be honest. When those guards took me into that room, they injected me with something and I swear I felt like I was living in a kaleidoscope," Emily answered, "I couldn't even feel my face! Anything is better than that, even this crazy migraine that I have right now."

"That's because they gave you a modified strain of _Dimethyltryptamine_," Anet reasoned, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the wall behind her.

"Dimethy-what?" Hanna shook her head in confusion.

"Wow, I'm surprised you got that far with the name, Han!" Spencer clapped teasingly, "Dimethyltryptamine is a psychedelic drug. The brain naturally produces it, when you're near death. It makes you lose connection of your external reality and many people claim to come in contact with aliens or spirits, when they ingest it. I'm surprised Emily's not saying that she met Jesus or something."

"Hey, you don't know that, Spence," Emily giggled, "maybe I did!"

"Oh, really? What did he say?" Spencer arched an eyebrow.

Before Emily could answer, Aria walked out. The playful mood quickly disintegrated due to the task now at hand. The smile on the brunette's face faded along with the carefree atmosphere, when she saw the frowns on our faces.

"Hey, what's going on?" she inquired, concern evident in her tone.

Hanna got up from her seat, clearing her throat to begin speaking, "Ar—"

"Aria," Spencer hastily interrupted, "there's something you need to know." She stopped, searching her face for a reaction, but Aria simply nodded for her to continue, "there's no easy way to say this, but I'll try my best. Stephanie, Lily's mother, dated your father before your parents got married and—"

"Are you saying what I think you are?" Aria shrieked, walking backwards. Her facial expression flashed from shocked to anguish.

"Lily said that your dad disowned her and she was furious, so she stole the game from Mona to target you and all of us," Spencer continued, speaking softer this time.

Tears now fell freely from Aria's eyes as her voice started to crack, "No! I can't believe he did that! All of this could have been avoided; it's all his fault!" She sank to the floor, "I've had a sister all along ... I-I can't let them take her to prison. Maybe there's something that I can do!"

Aria wiped her tears, leaving trails of smeared mascara. She sprang up from her crouched position and stormed towards Detective Wilshire's office.

"Aria, wait!" Anet ran towards her, grabbing her arm and turning her around to face her, "nothing that you say can change this. She murdered Ezra, Ar. _Murdered! _She's the reason none of you have had ordinary lives and she's still hell-bent on revenge. She wanted to chop us all up and feed us to her mutant animals, for God's sake! If you somehow manage to let them go easier on her, she'll return and trust me, nothing will be tickety-boo in the world."

"But she's still my sister," Aria scrunched her face deeper, sobbing now. Anet pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back, trying to comfort her.

"What are you waiting for?" I threw a paper-ball at Jake. He was staring in utter horror at the sight of his girlfriend in this state, "don't let the psychic be a better boyfriend than you!"

"Let me take her," he said to Anet, swapping places with her, "I'm here, babe. I'm here for you."

I held Emily's hand, rubbing the back with my thumb, while we waited to get dismissed. Aria was still sobbing uncontrollably. It hurt seeing her like this, I mean, she is my friend and I feel totally helpless at the moment. It's definitely a matter which she'll have to discuss with her dad. _Does Mrs. Montgomery even know?_ I wondered. That's one helluva secret to keep from your family.

"Okay, I'm done with all the paper work. If you want to add anything to your statements or have any questions, feel free to contact me," Detective Wilshire handed each of us a copy of his contact card. "make sure that you all get home safely as well. Goodnight!"

"Thanks for everything, Detective Wilshire. I'll get that certificate to you first thing Monday morning," I shook his hand once more.

"Don't mention it!" he replied, tipping his hat to us and walking back to his office shortly afterwards.

"Can I still ride shotgun?" Hanna pouted.

"Only if Em wants to sleep in the backseat again," I answered, smirking since I already knew what she would say.

"Nope. No way," Emily shook her head in disapproval, confirming my thoughts, "it was so uncomfortable and you guys insisted on singing horribly off key."

"Sorry but not everyone is the next Beyoncé, like you, Em," Hanna winked, walking over to the vehicle and getting into the backseat.

"Today was a crazy day, mate!" Anet unexpectedly came out of no where and pulled Emily and I into a group hug, "I'm glad that we're all okay and finally got that bitch!"

"I should be thanking you for all the help," I told her, "even though you're a bit creepy."

"Creepy is as creepy does. Don't ask me what that means, though. I honestly don't know. It just felt fitting to say." she chuckled, "can I get a ride with you instead? Spencer's not as fun."

"Don't let her hear you with that, Anet," Samara jested, walking over to us.

"I meant to say, I think I'm riding with the wrong blonde," she winked at Hanna.

"Whatever, I just wanted to tell you ... bye, before I leave with Spencer," Samara kissed the psychic on her cheek, waving to us and walked away like nothing happened.

"Did I ... Did I just get friend zoned?" Anet touched her face in disbelieve, smiling from ear to ear like an idiot.

"I highly doubt it. I don't know if you noticed, but Ali and I didn't get any lip action from her." Emily teased.

"Score 1 for Team Anet! Let's get going, though. I'm getting tired and I want to snuggle up to my girlfriend," I opened the door for Emily to get in and ran over to the driver's side.

"I wonder who that is," Emily laughed, playfully rolling her eyes.

"Oh, you don't know her." I responded wittily. She feigned being shocked but it only made her laugh harder.

* * *

><p><strong>P.S. | <strong>_The "American Horror Story: Asylum" reference by Jake to Aria in Chapter 12 foreshadowed A's motives, which is very similiar to Johnny Morgan's reason for killing. (; I hinted it in further chapters, as well, but this was the biggest hint of them all. I've already began writing the following chapter, so you should expect that soon! On another note, how do you feel about the reveal? Remember, I'm now on twitter AsaMoritz, so feel free to send me your questions/suggestions there as well!_

_I'd like to say thanks to endgameXbitches, .7, Madslovespll, alisondilaurentis96, BrittzandTana, PLL-Naomily-iCarlyLover and everyone else for reviewing the last chapter, as usual, I appreciate it. (:_

_Emison FanFic suggestion of the week: "I Love You No Matter What" by __WhOofYou__. It's quiet entertaining and different. Check it out, if you haven't already! (:_


	24. Outfoxed

**A/N: **_Sorry about the hiatus, I really didn't plan it. Apart from my laptop dying on me (along with future chapters I was working on), I had finals and projects I had to work on. But never fear, Asa is here. (; I don't plan stopping this fic, until it's completed. Enough with me talking, though. I hope this will be worth the wait. Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favs! Without further ado, enjoy!_

**Emily's POV**

**2 Weeks Later **

"Come on!" I politely commanded, as I dragged Alison along by both her hands up Mount Sky-view's steep slope. She's been nothing but nice since we were reunited once again, and it's about time that I began taking charge of our dates every now and then. Don't get me wrong, sure it's lovely being wined and dined, but a relationship is a two way street, right? And there's no way in hell I'll pass up the opportunity to take the wheel and let her be the passenger enjoying the ride for once.

"Won't you tell me where you're taking me and why we had to wait until midnight?" Ali childishly whined, allowing me to lead her to our destination, "for all I know, you're carrying me where no one can hear me scream, while you try to take advantage of me," she continued suggestively.

"Darn it, you're on to me!" I feigned disappointment, playing along with her game, "I guess I'll have to skip the villainous speech and go straight to killing you, huh?"

I flashed my best impression of a sardonic smile at her, which she quickly took notice of and attempted to flee from my hold. _She must be reading my mind, _I thought to myself, tightening my grip and pulling her closer to my body.

_She's not Anet, Fields! _My subconscious snarled, rolling her eyes.

"Em, no! ... No, no, no!" Ali shook her head in disapproval, squirming under my embrace. I ignored her plea and gently picked her up, placing her over my shoulder. She absolutely hated when I carried her like this, but the look on her face alone, whenever I did, made it worth every second of her flailing limbs.

"You don't have a choice, now do you?" I teased, carefully sprinting up the remaining length of the slope.

"This isn't fear!" She sighed a few moments later, giving up her protest. I could almost hear the pout in her voice.

"We're nearly there, babe. It'll be worth it, once you see what I have planned," I promised.

It didn't take very long before we we're atop the hill. I gingerly lowered Ali back to ground, holding her hand as we both let the view sink into the pools of wonderment that were our eyes. The distant fire of the sun was long gone, only to be replaced by the inky, cloudless, never-ending horizon of the speckled sky which was equally as beautiful as the daytime, if not more. The stars rhythmically pulsated against it's sapphire backdrop, each patiently taking turns to shine—the perfect canvas for lonely travelers, astronomers and dream chasers.

The cool, night wind danced in sync with the occasional blue and white daffodils and daises, which decorated the lush green prairie of freshly dewed grass. The musty fragrance of dampness assaulted our senses, as nothing but the sound of waves washing against rocks at a far-flung shore, along with the carefree buzzing of fireflies, filled our sound waves. It felt like our own personal Hanging Garden of Babylon. Hell, maybe even the Garden of Eden. It made me _extremely _happy knowing that I was sharing this breath-taking moment with someone who literally meant the world to me, and them some.

"It's beautiful," Alison dreamily breathed, leaning her head against my shoulder to further admire the view, "you outdid yourself, killer! Maybe you should be in charge of our dates from now on."

"Hmm, I'll think about it," I playfully replied, kissing her forehead, "but this isn't even the best part!"

She stared at me incredulously, causing a small chuckle to escape from my throat. Before she had the opportunity to further challenge me, I guided her towards the cliff. Not only did it have an even better view of the Pennsylvanian skyline, but it's also where I planned to enjoy the rest of our night.

As we got closer, two padded chairs in front of a controlled campfire came into sight. Beside these laid a woven basket of goodies, a _Celestron Nexstar SE _telescope and a rechargeable _iHome_ mini speaker.

"Are we stargazing?" Ali gasped, examining the spyglass.

I nodded in response, angling the apparatus in the right direction and then stepping back, "go ahead. Tell me what you see."

She warmly smiled at me, prior to following my instructions and I swear I felt my heart instantly flutter at the sight. Her features seemed so relaxed; so innocent. Not even a trace of her signature, coquettish smirk could be found. It _almost_ made me wish she used this more often, but it didn't matter as long as she was smiling, regardless of the nature. Deep down I always knew that that's all that will ever matter to me.

"Okay, I see a crescent moon," Ali observed, searching the sky.

"Is that all?" I knowingly queried.

"Umm," she paused, slightly tilting the telescope, "No. There are ... 4 stars to the left side of the moon and 2 on the right." Ali removed her eyes from the instrument in order to meet mine, "babe, what exactly am I looking for?"

Her puzzled expression caused a grin to tug at the corner of my lips. I squinted my eyes, blocking the dazzling light of the moon and pointed to the lower star on the right, "you see that one right there? That's all yours."

"Em, you do know that you can't just go around claiming stars, right?" She jocosely arched an eyebrow.

"Oh, but I'm well aware! That's why I got this," I pulled out a registration paper and a star chart from the hidden pocket in my leather jacket, handing them to my love, "meet _Cor Emison 201. _I bought it last week, but I had to wait until tonight for it to be the nearest to the moon, since it's located in the Virgo constellation, as you can see on the chart. It's ours, babe!"

Ali's mouth altered between opening and closing, as if she was rendered completely speechless. Her eyes widened with brimming tears, but it was evident that she was happy. She momentarily remained unmoved, almost like she was chained to the earth, but she quickly broke out of her temporary shackles and sprang into my arms, planting kisses all over my face.

"I love you so much, Emily! You don't know how much this means to me," she shakily spoke in between pecks, tears now freely falling down her flushed cheeks.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, "I love you too, babe! So much more than just to the moon and back. This is only a fraction of what I hope to do for you as our relationship blossoms. Do you know what the name means?"

"Cor Emison 201," she repeated the name, making it sound even better as it rolled off her tongue, "it's the combination of our names, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, giving her an Eskimo kiss, "but _Cor _is Latin. It means _'the heart of'. _The numbers represent the date that I went to interview you, and if you put the pieces together—"

"It'll say _'the heart of Emison, 201'_" Ali finished the sentence, placing her arms around my neck and drawing circles against the exposed flesh, while gazing intently at me.

"Yeah! As humans, we're always looking up to the sky. The unknown literally both scares and intrigue us in a way nothing within our knowledge ever can. I think that's why we try to connect the dots, forming constellations and surrounding them with stories, just so that we can somehow relate to them," I lightly chuckled, admiring how the campfire reflected in Ali's porcelain eyes, "... I think what I'm trying to say is, people are so busy formulating ideas, that they sometimes overlook what's right in front of them and take the true beauty for granted," I paused, copying to memory how adorable she looked trying to figure out where I was going with this, before continuing, "I don't want to be like those people. Even when our star burns out, it'll still be the brightest in the sky to me. No matter how far away from each other we might be, I can always look at it and feel at ease knowing that the distance isn't as great as it feels, because we'll be looking at the same thing. I'll never, ever take a second with you for granted. You're my North Star, always bringing me back to home ... Back to you."

She glided her hands from my neck to cup my face, as she looked at me with an otherworldly beauty in her eyes and heaven on her breath. A thousand unsaid words burned into my cheeks, as her fingertips caressed the skin and I swear ... I've never been more in love with her than in this very moment.

"And you're my everything. I'll spend the rest of my life proving it to you," Ali whispered, crashing our lips together. In that kiss, it seemed my body gently lifted off the ground and into the astral plane, completely weightless. Celestial bodies flickered around us and the world rotated far below. We were surrounded by the most beautiful colors and everything was so perfect. It was the most precious, vulnerable thing that you could ever experience and I wished it could last forever.

And it felt like it indeed lasted forever, until we both had to surrender to the demand for air from our deflated lungs. We spent the rest of the night roasting marshmallows, sharing embarrassing stories and whispering sweet nothings. The enchanting and somewhat mesmerizing tunes emitting from the iHome played softly in the background, intensifying our exchanges while seeping into our bodies and into our veins. It didn't take very long for us to start dancing under the pale moonlight, until the sun threatened to rise in the now red and orange tinted sky. I knew I'd have a hard time keeping awake in classes later, but I'd never regret any second of this ... Bliss.

* * *

><p>Faded sunlight casted tall shadows on the pathless floor of the woods. Crooked trees canopied, standing still like statues in the natural museum of nature's creations, though sporadic gusts of wind rattled their leaves. The distorted, moss-covered trunks were soddened, causing a mildewy, yet fresh smell to stroke the walls of my lungs, while buzzing insects swarmed the area. Aside from the screeching of hostile animals in the background, this was the epitome of serene tranquility.<p>

The air was somehow sticky against my skin, as I roamed aimlessly through the knee-high, emerald grass. Even though my mind was completely unaware of my destination, my legs sure knew where they were taking me. _I've been here before_, I thought to myself. How? ... When? I have no idea, but it just felt right. I was here for a reason and I had to find out why.

The sound of water now thundering down what I can only identify as a nearby lake became apparent. My feet shuffled through detritus to locate the source of the sudden disturbance. The booming grew louder and louder, notifying me that I was getting close. Before I knew it, I stumbled upon the bank of a small river. The water was an unrealistic, milky, pale blue; almost identical to the sky's. A thin sheet of cloud-like fog hovered over it's surface. It only got thicker as my eyes travelled along it's length until they came in contact with a roaring waterfall. The scenery looked like it belonged on a postcard from another planet and I could literally feel my jaw becoming slacked.

_Splash! ..._The water clapped as an external force displaced it.

I quickly hid behind a nearby shrub, examining the expanse of the slow moving stream. It looked calm, like nothing at all happened a few moments prior. _Am I hearing things?_ I know I'm not going crazy.

A head surfaced, breaking me out of my billow of confusion. As the body rose entirely to the surface, I noted that it was of a woman. Her back was turned to me, but from where I stood, I could see that she had long red hair which seamlessly cascaded down her bare rear side. Her green eyes suddenly met mine and a chill ran laps down my spine. It wasn't the kind of chill that Ali gave me whenever I saw her, but a chill that made fear stir in the bottom of my stomach. She was fully nude and didn't even make an effort to cover herself up. It was almost like she was proudly embracing it.

A cruel mockery of a smile crept onto her face, as I felt mine lose color. Her arms swayed simultaneously back and forth, hands gently stroking the water and forming numerous ripples, while she walked towards me with her head held high, like she was above everyone else. I tried running away in the opposite direction, but it was as if I were anchored to the ground.

"You can try to run, but you won't get too far, Emily," she hissed, now only standing a few feet away.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" I choked out, mentally cursing my betraying limbs.

She huffed out a short, insincere chortle, "you know exactly who I am. You're just too scared to conjure the truth from your subconscious mind."

"Why are you here?" I yelled out in frustration. I didn't have a clue who she was. Maybe this was a case of mistaken identity. It had to be, right? _But she knows my name! _

"You think you know all the answers, but you're wrong. There's still a lot more things to learn and I won't stop until you do." She ambiguously answered.

My vision began to become blurry with every word she uttered from her mouth. I briefly closed my eyes, rubbing them with the back of my hands and hoping this would make everything come back into focus. An unexpected hand pressing on my back made me involuntarily jump out of my skin, springing my eyes open. _Shit! Can it be her?_

I hesitantly looked around and then it hit me. I wasn't in a forest anymore. I was in a large classroom, surrounded by at least 35 other students. The lights were out and a large screen was in front of the room, showcasing the anatomy of the human body. As my eyes adjusted, Paige's face popped out of nowhere.

"You almost scared me, what the hell!" I said in hushed tones. I guess she was the person touching my back.

"Since when does Emily Fields fall asleep in class?" She teased, leaning back in her seat. I didn't even notice that she was sitting beside me today.

"I didn't get much sleep last night," I replied, choosing not to elaborate.

"Samara seemed tired in English earlier too," she noted, eyeing me suggestively, "have you guys rekindled things?"

I rolled my eyes, closing my notebook and placing it in my backpack which hung loosely off my desk. It's not like I would catch up on anything this far into the class.

"If only you knew," I simply said, wishing she'd drop the topic. It's not like I'd reveal to her that Ali was back in my life. God, the last time I did that, she fricking called the cops. Who's to say she wouldn't do it again?

"As I said earlier in the lesson, class. You might think you know all the answers, but you're wrong," Mr. Sinner, our loopy Biology teacher, interrupted as the lights came back on, "Science is something that's always changing as new information and research pool in. Today we might believe we evolved from apes, tomorrow we might come to find out that the fishes swam out of the sea, grew legs and started talking. Basically, what you learned in High-school might not apply here, so please pay attention in our next lesson and don't come to me complaining if you failed your test, due to negligence on your behalf. Especially you, Glenn. Class dismissed!"

If I didn't know any better, I'd feel sorry for Glenn. He was the class clown and always felt the need to challenge teachers. Instead of listening to lectures, he'd be too busy throwing paper planes, making bunny shadows and passing notes. If it were any other subject I'd be on the teacher's side, but it should be a sin to be in Mr. Sinner's presence. Sometimes I wondered if he chose this occupation, due to the fact that it matched his surname so perfectly. Wouldn't it be ironic if he became a priest later on in life? _Father Sinner, _the thought alone made me chuckle to myself.

I grabbed my bag and headed out into the hallway. One thing that stood out, was the fact that Mr. Sinner perfectly quoted the red haired woman from my dream. I quickly pushed the thought aside though. I once read that things happening in the real world tend to trickle their way into your dreams, therefore it couldn't possible mean anything.

"So, you're daydreaming in class and now you have the biggest smile on your face. Am I missing something?" Paige pried, catching up to my long strides as I walked down the hallway.

"What's it to you?" I arched an eyebrow at her.

"Just, you know, general curiosity," she shrugged, "I haven't seen you like this since we dated."

I cringed at the mention of our previous relationship. _Was I drunk during the entire thing? What was I thinking?_ Though, I wouldn't dare burst her bubble, knowing that we were both going to swim practice. The last thing I need, is for her to try and drown me again.

"Oh, it's really nothing. I was just thinking of all the possible career paths Mr. Sinner could've pursued instead of teaching," I nonchalantly responded. It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie either.

"I think the entire student body would agree with you, because—" I began blocking Paige out, as my view panned behind her. A flash of red hair retreating immediately caught my attention. _Can it be her? _

"Yeah, yeah. You're right. I'll see you at practice in a few minutes," I quickly dismissed myself, running towards the fleeing woman.

"You'll be late, Fields!" Paige's voice resonated down the hall, while the distance between us grew greater.

_Damn, this woman moves fast,_ I thought to myself.

Thankfully, we were approaching the end of a large group of students whom were now swarming into the hallway from different classrooms. She turned around, meeting my eyes just like she did in my dream. I was now certain that it was the same woman, though her green eyes didn't seem half as confident. In fact, she looked a bit disheveled, like she hasn't been sleeping well. Her carefree expression vanished after she recognized me.

_She looks way different with clothes on,_ my subconscious commented. Ugh, such a perv.

The red haired woman ran down another empty hallway and I didn't hesitate to follow once more. Growing desperate, she began throwing obstacles in my way, even resorting to knocking students' books out of their hands just to slow my progress. What was she hiding? And most importantly, why did I dream about her?

After she turned down another hallway, I lost sight of her. I searched nearby classrooms, even the janitor's closet but it's like she vanished in thin air. This is the second time within a short time frame that this woman has caused me to question my sanity, and not in the good way either. I sighed, defeated. Maybe missing out on sleep causes me to hallucinate, but the physical proof of littered books would beg to differ. There was nothing that I could do at this point, though. So, I decided to just head back to swim practice. This has been one exhausting, tiring day but at least it's Friday.

* * *

><p>Waking up from my nap, I felt like I was on another planet. Why does everything feel spacey after you come out of a deep sleep? Questions like these plague my mind on a daily basis. On the other hand, practice went really well, since the coach was going easy on us. We won our swim meet last week for regionals, so we were still celebrating a bit.<p>

A frown graced my features, when I remembered that unknown woman. I even told Ali about her on our way back to the house, better yet mansion, that was located on the outskirts of Riverhaven. It's become sort of a norm to spend the weekends here and the weekdays in our apartment. I can get used to this, though.

"Are you still worried, babe?" Ali asked, concern evident in her voice. We were laying on the bed in her loft-like den, waiting for the girls to come over. We haven't seen them since we got back from that godforsaken facility and it was about time we caught up with each other. Well, everyone excluding Samara. Ali and her are actually becoming really good friends, so she comes over every other day.

"Don't you think that it has to mean something?" I muttered, meeting her eyes.

"It might, but it's equally possible that it's just a coincidence," she reasoned, kissing my forehead, "don't overthink that beautiful brain of yours."

"Then I'll need a distraction," I said teasingly, rolling on top of her and propping my hands on both sides of her head for support.

Ali mischievously smirked in response, "what if I told you that it's that time of the month?"

"Ewww!" I immediately rolled back onto my side of the bed, throwing a pillow at her.

"I didn't say that I had it, now did I?" She giggled, slowly sitting up to straddle my waist and flipping her golden locks to one side in the process. I felt shivers shot down my spine at the sight.

"You didn't confirm that you're not on your period either," I wittily replied, pulling her in for a kiss.

Ali smiled against my lips, before she reciprocated. Her nails grazed up my arms, until they reached my neck, where she decided to station her arms. A sudden throbbing between my legs confirmed how aroused I felt at this moment. I traced the outline of her rosy lower lip, tasting her Vanilla Chapstick. She opened her mouth, allowing our tongues to stroke erotically against each other, while she pressed her petite body closer into mine.

Growing greedy, I shifted my thigh between her legs. Her hips automatically began thrusting forward into mine at the gesture. My lips were left tingling with a fleeting sensation as Ali began leaving small kisses along my jawline. I let my hands travel under her black tank top to her front, pinching her nipples through her bra, caressing her breast with my palms.

She gasped in satisfaction, now sucking at my pulse point and grinding harder against my core. I titled my head, giving her better access to area, while I bit my lip, trying to suppress a moan. _Unf!_

I don't know what it was, but I opened my eyes and someone was staring back at me from a distance. My blood ran cold.

"What the hell!?" I breathlessly yelled a little louder than I intended to.

"You guys can continue if you want," the brunette shrugged as it she's used to walking in on people.

"Jesus!" Ali jumped off the bed, at the sound of the other person's voice.

"No, it's just me, though I hear the resemblance is striking," Anet winked, leaning against the wall with her arms folded.

"How did you get in?" Ali ran her hand through her hair, obviously irritated.

"Dexter told me to come right in. I didn't see you guys in the living room or the kitchen, so I decided to check here. Best decision ever!" The psychic proudly stated.

"I'm going to kill him!" I mumbled under my breath. I'm going to be grumpy all day if I don't do anything about this sexual frustration.

"Don't worry, Em. I see sex in your near future," Anet teasingly philosophized, "shame on you guys, though. You knew that the gang was coming over any minute now."

Ali sighed in defeat, holding my hand, "whatever, is everyone here too?"

"Yeah, even Samara," she wriggled her eyebrows with her grin growing wider.

"How are things going with you guys?" I asked out of genuine curiosity.

"Mmm, I wish I could answer that, but there's literally nothing to talk about," her grin faltered a bit, "we've been texting all week, but it feels ... I don't know, purely plutonic, I guess. What sucks the most is how blurry my bloody visions are now, since that I've found her. It's quite frustrating."

"I have an idea," Ali's mischievous smirk returned.

"I like the way you think," Anet's smile returned at full strength as she walked out. Ali dragged me along, following the psychic down the stairs.

When we got into the living room, we were greeted by our friends—Spencer, Hanna, Aria and Samara. Of course Hanna joked about Ali and I having the _I just had sex _look about us. Ugh, if only it were true.

Spencer insisted that we kick off the night by watching a new documentary about the possibility of aliens creating the human race on the _National Geographic_ channel and surprisingly, everyone seemed interested in it, apart from Ali and I.

Half way into it, I noticed Ali typing on her phone. Before I had the chance to ask what she was doing, I felt my phone vibrating. I pulled it out of my pocket.

_**New Message from: Ali Boo 3 **_

I seriously need to change her contact name, I swear. I opened the message, wondering why she didn't just say it to me instead. After all, I was sitting between Hannna and her.

_**'Are you as frustrated as I am? :( Xx, Ali.'**_

I tried not to laugh, because I really didn't want to get Hanna's attention. I quickly typed a reply.

_**'Yes. It's so bad. You're lucky I know how to contain myself. Xx, Em.' **_

My phone vibrated a few seconds later. She's really becoming good at texting fast.

_**'Not sure if I can say the same. (; Do you think they'll notice if I kiss your neck... Down to your collar bone... And then... Ugh. Xx, Horny.' **_

I covered my mouth, muffling my involuntary laugh. I guess she's suffering way more than I am, and for some reason, it's actually a bit cute. _What's wrong with me?_

_**'I like that you changed your signature. But, I'm sure that would be super obvious. I don't think I'll be able to keep quiet, if you do. Xx, Can we fast forward to later?' **_

I glimpsed at Ali, while she typed a reply. I don't think that mischievous smirk ever left her face and it's literally the most adorable thing ever. _Zzz, _I unlocked my phone, checking what she had to say now.

_**'Ill be sure to work on a time machine, babe. (; Would you like to try an Australian kiss? Xx, thinking about you naked.'**_

I felt my cheeks flood with color. I forgot how much of a perv Ali can be when she's in the mood. Thank God that the lights were dimmed, or someone would've probably noticed.

_**'Sure. (; What's an Austrailian kiss? Xx, aren't you charming as ever?' **_

It literally only took her 5 seconds to send a message back.

_**'It's like a French kiss... but down under. Xx, who said Chivalry was dead? Lol'**_

"Oh my God!" I unconsciously voiced my thoughts, mentally face palming myself as I noticed.

_Smooth, Fields. Extremely smooth, _my subconscious sneered.

"I hope you're not having unprotected text," Hanna whispered in a jest tone, staring at my phone's screen. I quickly shoved it in my pocket, hoping she didn't see much.

"Shut up, Han. People are trying to watch the documentary thingy," I tried changing the topic. She simply rolled her eyes in response.

"How about a game of Truth or Dare?" Ali offered to the group, lowering the volume of the flat screen.

"But they're getting to the good part!" Spender whined, pointing at the television.

"We'll pause it. Come on, guys. It'll be just like old times," Ali stated dismissively, placing an empty glass bottle on the coffee table, "who wants to go first?"

"Me!" Hanna volunteered, spinning the bottle before anyone else had the chance to. Thank God Ali came up with this. It's the best distraction ever.

The bottle spun several times, finally landing on the bewitching blonde, Samara. She instantly went pale, looking at it in utter horror as she waited.

"Truth or dare?" Hanna asked.

With the inner conflict evident in her face, she answered, "dare!"

"Hell yeah! I dare you to..." Hanna began, being interrupted by Ali whispering in her ear, "I dare you to send Anet a picture of your bare boobs in a direct message on Instagram."

The blonde blinked, caught off guard, "what?"

Ali butted in, smiling, "you heard her. Send the psychic a boob pic."

"Do I have any other options?" Samara frowned.

"Sure. It's either this or walking around Danby in a T-Rex costume for an entire week," Hanna replied.

"I'd go with the DM better," Aria added on, finally speaking for the first time in ages.

Samara threw her hands up in defeat, "fine. I'll go to the bathroom and see what I can do."

"Take your time!" Anet yelled after her, while she retreated from the room.

"Good going Hanna," Spencer genuinely complimented the blonde.

"It's somewhat Ali's idea, but thanks," Hanna triumphantly sat back in her chair.

It took roughly 5 minutes until Anet's phone notified her of a new message. All our eyes were on her, just waiting for her response, but it went from excited to shocked as she opened up her messages.

"Jeez, you don't look impressed," Aria noted.

"Let me see! Is it really that bad?" Hanna piped in.

"Relax, it's a message from my mum. Samara hasn't sent anything as yet," The psychic replied.

Her phone rang again moments later. When she checked the message, her mouth opened widely, literally drooling, "Sweet Christopher Columbus! She's perfect!"

"Based on how long she took, it better be perfect," Ali joked, throwing an arm around me out of nowhere.

Samara hesitantly walked back in, searching our faces, "I did it..."

"We know!" We said in unison, chuckling.

A loud noises filled the air, coming from the TV screen. I saw that it was a news report, so I turned the volume back up.

"Breaking News!" The anchor stated, shuffling through papers in her hand, "we've just got information that the Raven Rock Mountain Complex was taken down 2 weeks ago. Apparently they were conducting unauthorized C.I.A. experiments on random citizens. During the take down, a large number were killed. We will keep you updated as we find out more..."

The doorbell rang suddenly, drowning out the sound if the Anchor's voice. I looked around, seeing the shocked look etched on everyone's face.

"Someone's leaking information!" Spencer voiced our thoughts.

"But what kind of monster would do such a thing?" Aria inquired.

_Ding! ... _Thedoor bell rang once more.

"I'll get it," Ali stated, walking down the hallway.

"Do you think they'll leak our names?" Hanna questioned, "I've always wanted to be famous."

"I don't think you want that kind of attention, Han," I rebutted.

"We have a problem," Ali declared walking in with a box.

"What's wrong?" I got up, moving beside her to examine the box.

"It's from Calypso..." She replied.

"Well, are you going to stay there all day or open it?" Spencer rhetorically quizzed.

Ali dubiously open the box, revealing nothing but black dirt and a note.

Aria grabbed the letter, reading it out loud, "you think you dug up all the answers. Now I'm digging your graves and letting the media see everything as it unfolds. Yours truly, Calypso."

* * *

><p><strong>P.S. | <strong>_Any Aussies reading this? If so, can I marry you? No? Okay, nvm. Haha. On a serious note, I forgot how I described Calypso, so I probably just ended up recreating her. Sorry for any inconsistencies. This fic is about to turn 3 months in a few days. My baby's growing up so fast, I'm going to cry. I'll do a special chapter, just to celebrate, so if you have any suggestions in mind, feel free to let me know in the reviews. Also if you have any questions or just want to keep updated with me or just hang out, I'm now on twitter AsaMoritz. (: _

_I'd like to say a huge thank you to spashleybrittana4ever and missdarkbloom. I don't know you guys, but I love you both. Your reviews motivated me to get this chapter up ASAP! So thanks again, and also to everyone else that have reviewed, followed or favorited this. It means the world to me! (: _

_Smut next chapter, I promise. Let me know your turn ons and turn offs, because I'm an amateur at this. Lmao. _

_Emison FanFic recommendation of the week: "Endgame" by __alicialincoln__. If you haven't checked it out yet, you really should consider doing so. Not only is it well written, but the characters and events are developed really well, along with many cute and humorous moments when appropriate. You'll definitely enjoy the ride! (:_


	25. Red ShAmbhala

**A/N:** _Warning, this chapter involves a much requested 'steamy scene'. If that's not your cup of tea, I'll add another note right before, so you can feel free skip it entirely. I'm not making it overly-detailed, but... Those of you reading it will definitely enjoy! Without further ado, let me introduce you to this unpunctual update. (:_

**Alison's POV**

Silence fell in the awestruck room. I watched Aria's face grow visibly pale, as the last words on the card rolled off her tongue in a faint-hearted manner. A strong mixture of unwanted emotions stirred in the pit of my stomach, though none was quite capable of overpowering the other. I was almost positive my brain briefly short-circuited and rebooted itself seconds later, only to be flooded by a tide of questions.

"Are you guys actually taking this seriously?" Hanna arched an eyebrow at us, raising a hand up in disbelief, "isn't Calypso like... Cuckoo for cocoa puffs?"

"Yeah, I'm sure the nut house lets it's captives send fan mail," Spencer sarcastically scoffed, "she's probably the one who leaked the information to the media and now she's threatening to tell them more. Do you know how detrimental that can be to the case?"

Emily folded her arms in front of her, creasing her forehead in thought, "Are we absolutely certain that it's her, though? I mean, Aria was convinced that she was crazy, but then we found out that she was possibly faking it. Maybe this is a false threat as well."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but," Anet interrupted, taking the card from Aria, "this isn't a joke. We're not dealing with the same person."

"What do you mean we're not dealing with the same person?" I quickly quizzed, turning my attention to the psychic. She was hovering her hand over the card, seemingly stuck in deep cogitation.

Her dark orbs raised to meet mine, concern etched in her expression, "The girl from the ward... She's not the real Calypso. The person who sent this is."

"So, there are two of them? Why did that girl tell me her name was Calypso Maykis?" Aria countered, wide eyed.

Anet briefly closed her eyes, keeping silent for a few seconds. She occasionally nodded, as if answering to silent enquiries before fluttering them open again, "because she strongly believes she's Calypso. She's somehow mentally connected to her, like a psychic parasitic twin. She can't tell the difference between her own memories and her insight. She doesn't even understand that her visions are merely echoes of someone else's past, present or future."

Hanna shook her head and sighed, "That's cool and all, but can you translate that to English now?"

"She's crazy," Spencer responded flatly, stealing the opportunity to answer the question, "this explains why I didn't find any information about Calypso having a mental issue. This is someone completely different!"

_Of course! Perfect opportunity for Spencer to redeem herself, _my subconscious sneered, rolling her eyes.

"But that leaves the question as to whom Aria actually met in the ward. Maybe whoever she is can help us in some way," I theorized, trying to make the best out of the situation at hand.

"Don't we already have a psychotic psychic on our side? I don't think we need another one," Hanna jested, earning a slap on the arm from Aria. Her mouth fell agape as she glared at the petite brunette.

"I can't believe this, but I actually agree with Hanna on this one," Spencer added, "what can she do for us that Anet can't?"

The young witch stepped forward, twirling the threatening card between her fingers, "technically she's not psy-_chic_, she's psy-_cho_. Plus, she can do a lot of creepy things that I can't. For example, it's like she literally lives in Calypso's mind. I didn't realised it earlier, due to how strongly she believes she's actually this red haired woman. I mean, I thought she was her too! But I see everything clearer now, since I've found your friend over there," Anet tilted her head in the direction of an oblivious blonde who was lost in her own world, "that girl in the ward can let you know Calypso's every thought and that can give us the upper hand. That's a skill I don't even have, unless I'm in the same room as the person I'm reading."

A sudden, soft clinking of what could only be identified as an object hitting glass repeatedly entered our sound waves. Though minor, it was enough to draw our attention away from the young witch and onto the source of the disturbance—Samara. She was propped on top of the white sofa, legs folded neatly beneath her. With eyes glued to the screen of her tablet, she tapped incessantly using only her forefinger, which seemed to be the origin of the pinging noise. The resonance came to an abrupt stop as she realized she was now the center of observation.

"Oh, don't mind little ol' me," the bewitching blonde stated dismissively, switching her attention back to the iPad laying in her lap, "but before you all go back to your Scooby Snacks and Mystery Machines, I'd just like to point out the fact that the media probably has a lot more information than they're letting on. Any good journalist knows that you should build up the anticipation of the story, before giving the bulk of it. That way, the number of daily viewers explodes and you sell way more magazines, newspapers and all that jazz. If you want them to lay off the report, pay them off or give them something juicer to talk about."

"Samara's totally right," Hanna agreed, "when I heard rumors about Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes breaking up, I was glued to TMZ and all over Perez Hilton's blog looking for the article. I'm telling you guys, Ryanna would be inseparable."

I face-palmed myself, shaking my head, "Han, you're missing the point. If they release our names and our pictures to the press, not only will it be revealed that I faked my own death, but it will bring negative attention to all of you guys too! Let's not forget that a lot of innocent people died there and everyone, including their families, will expect some answers from us! That psycho bitch might even try to pin this on us!"

"Did you say red haired woman?" Emily interrupted, totally disregarding my concerns and directing the question to Anet.

"Yeah. Red hair, green eyes, _GREAT_ body..." she answered, suggestively trailing off towards the end.

_And then it hit me!_

"I can't believe you had a wet dream about Calypso!" I blurted, immediately regretting the words that spilled out of my mouth. The audible gasps only amplified my guilt.

Emily pressed her lips into a thin line, visibly taken aback, "it wasn't a wet dream!"

"Was there water?" Hanna asked, nudging against her.

"There was a river AND a waterfall," I replied, appreciating the quick shift in mood and also grateful that Hanna's inappropriate humour is finally working in my favour.

"Sounds like a wet dream to me," she concluded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "a very, _very_ wet dream."

Emily threw herself in the sofa, defeated. I followed, sitting beside her to massage her shoulders. To be honest, guilt was still pulling on my heart strings. Poor thing, she was followed by this woman at school and all I cared about was her dream about her.

I'll have to make it up to Emily later, I mentally noted.

Aria ran her hand through her brown locks, "why does Calypso even want to continue torturing us though?"

"Umm, I don't know," Spencer shrugged exaggeratedly, "maybe because we sent her sister and mother to prison?"

"She's my sister too!" the brunette reminded us, fighting the tears forming in her eyes. Guilt evident in Spencer's posture, she began rubbing Aria's back, which was probably the only form of comfort she knew how to offer right now.

"We can't keep playing in a house of cards, waiting for it to all fall down," Emily stated matter-of-factly, finally breaking her short-lived silence, "we have to do something!"

"I have a plan," I announced, brainstorming a category 5 hurricane. The group gathered around our sofa. We spent the rest of the night, formulating possible counterattacks to undertake, in the event of something going wrong. We weren't going to make this easy for Calypso to do. We had to burn her, before she had the chance to burn us.

* * *

><p><span><strong>CAUTION<strong>: _Tsk, tsk. Did you skip straight to this scene? If so, shame on you. This isn't for the weak of heart. If your virgin eyes can't handle this, please move on to the next scene. Lol, jk. Let's pop some eye cherries!_

After assigning a room to each of the girls, I raced to my bedroom to slip into something more comfortable before Emily had a chance to get in. She was stuck in the hallway, explaining to Anet as to why Samara didn't want to share a room with her. The blonde was still feeling uneasy about exposing herself to the young psychic, during our little Truth or Dare game earlier. In my opinion, it was a great idea; I regret nothing. After everything they've been through together, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want their ship to sail.

_Screeeeeeee_, the sound of the door creaking shut broke me out of my chain of thoughts.

I quickly turned around, only to be met by intense, chocolate eyes burning into mine with deep desire. I don't know how long she was standing there, or how the hell she ended up in a silk robe, but I felt … _frozen_. She began moving towards me, undoing the loose bow-tie around her waist almost in slow motion. As her robe opened like the curtains at the number one show on Broadway, my concupiscence woke up from her rose-petaled bed, clapping in glee. Chills ran down my spine, while an ice-cold shiver ruptured through my body at the sight in pleasure. She looked hot as hell. The irony. I wanted nothing more than for our skins to make contact, so that I could put her fire out, as I melted beneath her.

With the moon shining it's spotlight on her through the slightly veiled windows, shadows cast down her toned, olive skin—every contour closely traced, replicating an unknown, detailed portrait; a masterpiece. And every artist needed to sign their work, right? My signature just happened to be made with my lips. _Unf._ My knees instantly grew weak as her robe collapsed to the ground, revealing a better view of the gift she hid underneath. Black lace cupped her bra, with her hair spilling seamlessly over her shoulders. My eyes didn't hesitate to wander down the vertical line of her abdomen, admiring how well the lingerie hugged her body closely. Lace sure complimented her well.

"I believe you owe me something," she said in a slightly husky voice, pushing me against the wall, "… and I'm here to collect."

I visibly gulped, as the bubble of anxiety expanded in my chest, breaking down all my walls of confidence and uncovering the _Hanging Gardens_ of vulnerability which hid deeply behind them. Even though I already knew what was coming next, I was never prepared for how I felt during these moments. How could one person affect you so profoundly deep? Witches and wizards would weep at the magic Emily possessed within her soul and excavators would envy the depths of her love. Though she wasn't aware of it, she was the only person who wrestled through the layers of my existence, battling all my inner demons, until she reached the very core and rescued me from the hell I imprisoned myself in; a prisoner of my own pride. I often question where I'd be if she hadn't. Perhaps I'd be so lost in the facade I created that I wouldn't remember what the definition of individuality was, or how amazing it felt when someone saw exactly who you are, flaws and all, and decided to love you as if they weren't imperfections, but rather the things that made you perfect. _Perfect for them._

I replied shakier than I intended, tracing the outline of her lips gently under my finger tips, "your wish is my command."

She smiled in response, closing the distance between our lips. With her arms wrapped around my waist, she kissed me like she was waiting her entire life for this; like every corner of my mouth was covered in pixie dust and she was finally getting a taste of all her hopes and dreams coming true for the first very time. That was something I was able to empathize with on many levels. Who needed a time machine when my future was right here in my arms?

"I think you're a little overdressed for the occasion," Emily breathed, breaking away breathlessly, gasping for air.

I felt the heat rising to my cheeks and I internally hoped the low lighting didn't give it away too much. She pressed her forehead against mine, slipping her hands under my tank top. Her haunting eyes were locked on mine, almost searching for something. I recognized that look. Only because my eyes mirrored hers, growing a darker shade of blue. It was hunger; concealed hunger, finally lurking to the surface, begging to overflow ... _And we both surrendered._

Raking her nails up the small of my back, Emily unclasped my bra when her fingers met with it. That was enough to send my skin tingling in _all _the right places. We eagerly helped each other undress, discarding the garments to the floor. The desperation was almost palpable, hanging thickly in the air now. I needed more, though. I needed to feel her closer to me. I wanted our limbs to be so impossibly entangled, that I forgot where I began and where she ended. I wanted to make Plato proud, proving that we were once one body, separated by Zeus and condemned to spend our lives searching for our other halves—each other.

Hooking my leg around her waist, I pulled Emily closer. Her lips instantly connected with my mine, before trailing down my neck and occasionally grazing against my skin with her teeth ever-so lightly, sending me writhing into her. There was a sudden shift in our breathing, now coming out in short huffs. I encircled my arms around her torso, guiding her hips until our bodies found a slow, tantalizing rhythm that was bound to send me over the edge.

She slowly raised her left thigh, repeatedly pressing against my center ... once, twice, _thrice_. I bit back a moan, throwing my head backward against the wall. The fire burning throughout finally caught up between my legs, erupting into a sudden throbbing sensation. I was _so close_ now. My knees were threatening to buckle.

"Oh, God, yes! Just like that," I whimpered, dragging my nails down her back.

Then, Emily removed her thigh. I grunted in frustration, missing the contact immediately.

"Relax," she cooed, tilting my head backward and slowly licking down my neck before leaving a trail of fiery kisses along my collarbone, down to my chest.

I involuntarily arched my body into her, slipping a moan out. Emily traced the outline of my nipple with the tip of her tongue, before taking it into her mouth. Her hand gave the other similar attention, squeezing the nub tauntingly and switching interchangeably between sucking and biting. If this wall wasn't supporting my back, I swear I would've already been on the floor.

Feeling her mouth traveling lower and lower caused my breath to hitch. Before I knew it, she sank to her knees, looking up to me for permission. I desperately nodded, bracing myself. She brushed her lips over my bundle of nerves over and over again.

"Please," I moaned, raking my hands through her hair. It was the only word I was able to choke out, which she understood quite well.

Emily placed one of my legs over her shoulder, holding me steady. Her tongue skillfully stroked over my sex, occasionally sucking and painstakingly repeating the process. My hips automatically thrust forward into her, only intensifying the feeling. All coherent thoughts disappeared into the back of my mind and my head grew dizzy, while my body fell limp. But when she delved her tongue into my warm wetness, the Earth stuttered on it's axis.

* * *

><p>An alarm slowly seeped its way into my unconscious world, waking me out of my slumber. Birds chirping in a distance and wind blowing the branches against the window were also in my hearing range. Once upon a time, those would've been things that would trigger a panic attack for me. It's amazing how things change over time.<p>

Heavy eyelids became the least of my problems, when I noticed my face was being peppered all over with feather light kisses. I smiled, opening my eyes to take in the bright surroundings. As my distorted vision finally started forming a focused picture, I saw the most beautiful sight I'd probably see all day—Emily. The morning sun gave her an angelic outline. Even with messy bed hair, she looked amazing.

"Good morning, sleepy head," she greeted, flashing a heartwarming smile.

I caressed her cheek, admiring how soft it felt, "hey, gorgeous."

"You're a really hard sleeper," she teased, "if only you knew all the things I did to try to wake you up."

"What did you … Never mind, I don't even want to know," I laughed. I knew she was kidding. Emily wasn't the type to take advantage of a sleeping person.

"Yeah, I don't think you'd want to know either," she winked, "you got 5 missed calls from someone named _Kenneth O'Brennan_. I would've answered, but I wasn't sure if you'd want me to."

_Shit!_ I felt the smile melt off of my face, panic now settling in. I jumped out of bed, quickly grabbing phone to return the call.

"What's wrong?" Emily questioned, furrowing her eyebrows.

"He's the Director of the C.I.A. He said he'd call me when they were done analyzing everything they found at the Athena Organization's Headquarters," I answered, waiting for him to pick up. He was pretty busy guy, it would be a miracle if—

"This is O'Brennan," the voice on the other end answered after the 4th ring.

"Mr. O'Brennan, this is Ms. Darkbloom. I'm just returning your call from earlier," I announced.

"Oh, yes, Madison!" he cheerfully replied, "I need you to stop by my office, whenever you're free today. We found out some startling information after my team went through the evidence we took from the scene, and I think you'd want to see them."

"I'll be there as soon as possible. What information can you disclose with my over the phone?" I quizzed, curiosity-ridden.

"That's a hard question to answer," he paused for a second, "we ran the serial numbers for all the equipment we took and found out that they were all reported missing from our official headquarters a few months ago. The experimental procedures were also taken from our database; however, something went horribly wrong when they tried to actually perform the experiments on people. These dead bodies... And the lab reports on them are mortifying. You'll have to see what I mean when you get here."

I don't know why, but the happiness I had inside was soon replaced by uneasiness. Something told me that this was only going to get worse, as we uncovered more information about what was actually happening at that sick organization.

"Ok, I'll stop by in an hour. Thank you for the call, Mr. O'Brennan," I stated, before ending the call.

_This is going to be a long day._

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><p><strong>P.S.<strong> | _Please excuse my poor smut-writing skills. I'm new to this. You'd never believe how many times I've re-written this chapter. So, I hope you liked it! I'm determined to finish this fic at Chapter 32, so that I can start my collab, "The Lullaby Machine", as soon as possible. I'd like to give a huge thanks to Alexa, the bae. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have uploaded this chapter any time soon. Also, thanks to Sydney for telling me that Paily would be endgame if I didn't do this, and to Alicia, author of "Endgame", for being awesome and giving me excellent tips. Last, but not least, thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed Stolen Sunsets during the hiatus. _

_I've regained my inspiration, so expect more frequent updates. (: Oh, I'm on twitter, guize. Feel free to tweet me at __AsaMoritz__ and tell me that you read this, so that I can follow you. Lets be friends. I don't bite._

**P.S.S. **| _Next chapter will be split POV's... and a lot of dead bodies. Hope you're into that shit. Lol. Oh, we'll meet Kenneth, also followed by an appearance of Liam and Barth. It's going to be a super fun chapter!_


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